Eastern Eldritch Endeavours
by Lyrium eidolon
Summary: In Japan, a new wizard is due to attend the Mahoutokoro School of Magic, but he will learn of a dreaded secret of the islands of Japan that may spell disaster for the whole world if its masterminds' plans should bear fruit...
1. Chapter 1: A False Negative

**Author's note:** Welcome. A quick note about language use: since this is set in Japan, many of their naming conventions will be used here. For instance, this will include honorifics, some terminology (although it shouldn't be too much of an issue) and surname-before-firstname conventions. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy.

 **Additional note:** Story revised as of 5 October to correct grammar, plot and localisation issues.

 **Disclaimer:** The following is a non-profit fan-based piece of fiction. Harry Potter was created by J.K Rowling.

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Chapter 1: A False Negative

In the rural areas of coastal Japan, a short distance off from the town of Kushimoto in the Wakayama Prefecture, stands a small cliff-side building in the style of a traditional temple. From this temple, a bright blue light would often shoot out over the sea. Not many humans cared for what went on inside, and those that did quickly lost interest. Surrounded by woods, almost nobody would disturb this strange temple, and anyone who did stray close to it often landed up somewhere in the streets of Osaka or Kyoto in little more than a vegetative state.

There was one exception to these people: a small emerald green-eyed white-haired boy who lived in the seaside temple itself. His head, with his hair spreading so it gave the impression of an attached silver fan, would always wonder why the lights were shooting out over the sea, and he wondered if it had anything to do with his oldest sister telling him to be in bed. His room, one floor above the ground level of the cliff, always faced towards the forest, but when he tried to sleep, he would hear crackling and humming. Running to the lounge, on the same floor but with a glass dome stretching from the ceiling halfway to the floor to create a feeling of a balcony, he would always see the bright blue jets shooting over the sea, giving a slight ocean view in the blackness of the night.

His name was Sora, named after the sky. And like the sky, according to the eldest sister Misaki, he had absolutely nothing noteworthy in himself. Years of his life went by, and her sapphire-eyed visage looked at him with more and more disappointment. Her free-flowing white hair extended down to the mid-point of her back, yet underneath all those locks of hair was always a feeling of disdain: one that many traditionalists of her kind would feel when looking upon the people they called 'Heimin'. The Heimin, unlike Misaki and the younger sister Rin, possessed no magical ability whatsoever and made up the majority of Japan's population, although in her eyes, Sora appeared to be just as much of an embarrassment. He was born to two wizarding parents, yet for the ten years of his life so far, he had displayed no magical abilities of any kind.

The displeasure that Misaki felt towards him often materialised as the word 'weak Kakushigo, illegitimate child', and she, ten years his elder, would treat him in much the same way a controlling parent would treat an underperforming child or a defective product. Rin, with ruby-red eyes, a white shoulder-length ponytail and a more tolerant demeanour when it came to their youngest sibling, told him that Kakushigo are wizard offspring who have no magical abilities of their own, although she herself always shied away from using that word. She was the only one of the two sisters to try spend time with Sora, four years her junior, although how they spent time together was often questionable: he was often hiding from her, and at some point an object near him would burst into flame and shock him into revealing himself

After another night of looking at the blue light shining over the sea, Sora woke up to a persistent call of "Sora-kun, get up!" from Rin by his bedside. Opening his eyes, he found her face hovering over his, and there was quite a sinister look in it, like she was wanting to 'play'.

"Listen, Misa-chan is just getting dressed, but we need to run into town for a few errands, Kay, Sora-kun?"

"Yes, Rin-nee-chan. For what?"

"Getting some new clothes and a bit of food. I'll see if we can bring back some takoyaki for you. Don't get too bored, okay?"

"Nee-chan?"

"I know how boring it can be by yourself, but I promise we'll have some fun when I get back."

"Rin! Where are you?" another voice yelled from elsewhere in the house.

"Coming, Misa-chan!" With that, Rin ran out of Sora's small room, and her steps continued to echo on the wooden floors of the upper level.

Looking around, Sora saw that a small head with slitted orbs for eyes was peering over his windowsill. "It's okay, you can come out now."

The head pulled itself into his room, followed by a long brown slithering body. "Why do you talk to me ssso casually?" it asked.

"You're the only company I have aside from my sisters."

"You do not cooperate withhh your brood?"

"Misaki-nee-chan always calls me a useless Kakushigo, and being around Rin-nee-chan hurts sometimes. I don't see anyone or anything else."

"She lies."

"What makes you say that, onii-san?"

"SORA!" Misaki's voice boomed from downstairs.

"Sorry, onii-san, I have to go. I will come back later though."

"I musssst go to find food. I do not know if we will sssee each other a sssecond time."

Sora quickly ran out of his room and saw Misaki and Rin waiting. The former was in an electric blue suit, and the latter in a basic red shirt and black shorts. "Sora, we are leaving for a while. You know what to do."

"Yes, Misaki-nee-chan. I am not to go outside, and if anyone knocks at the door, I am not to let them in. I also need to make your beds before you get back."

"Good. Rin, let's go."

Rin grabbed onto Misaki's left arm, and a second later, they vanished with a loud crack. Now Sora could finish his conversation with his onii-san, but when he got back, he found him gone. Peering out his window, he didn't see him. The only thing he saw was a woman with a black bikini top, long, sleek, seaweed-green hair and a purple line descending down her cheeks from each of her yellow slit-pupiled eyes… looking back up at him with a wicked smirk across her face.


	2. Chapter 2: Vocalisation

Chapter 2: Vocalisation.

"Hello, bishonen-kun!" the woman shouted. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"Uh, I live here, miss," Sora uneasily replied.

"All by yourself?"

"I live with my two sisters. They're out at the moment."

"So… it's just you? How lonely. I'll be inside in a second."

"Miss, I'm afraid I can't open the door for you. Misaki-nee-chan's orders."

"Who said anything about the door?" she declared as her body sank into the bushes. The next thing Sora knew was that eight fingers with long, sharp black nails grabbed onto his windowsill, and the woman's form rose up until she could look him closely in the eyes. "Besides, I couldn't care less about orders to keep me out." She pulled herself into the room; first her upper body, and then her long, seaweed-green, yellow-patterned, serpentine tail.

"You… you're related to my onii-san?"

" **What**?!" the snake-woman demanded, seemingly extremely offended at Sora.

"I… I spoke with an onii-san who had your lower body, except he was much smaller and didn't have arms or skin."

"You… you forced me to use your pathetic, scrambled, inconsistent, vain and exclusionary excuse for a language when you speak like us this whole time?!"

"W-what do you mean, onee-san? We're still talking the same words."

"You mean…" her hand grabbed the top of Sora's head and began squeezing. "…you don't even know when you speak another language?!" She then pulled his right sleeve down, exposing his shoulder. "You need punishment!"

"What are you going to do to me?!"

"The same thing I do to everyone who addresses me in a filthy language!" Her mouth opened to reveal two large fangs, after which her tail wrapped around his eyes and he felt a large stabbing pain in his skin. The pain quickly subsided, and her tail unfurled. "Magic blood."

"W…what do you mean?" Sora hissed, still feeling the sting of the bite.

"You know very well what I mean, regarding stupid International Wizard Confederation policy as it relates to my species."

"I… I don't actually."

"Wha-"

"Please don't get mad again!"

"So, what you are saying is that you have no idea who I am or why I find the law so tiresome?! And here I thought you were a wizard. You certainly taste like one."

"Misaki-nee-chan keeps calling me a Kakushigo."

"Illegitimate? Don't make me laugh. I assure you, Japanese Kakushigo blood, British Squib blood, Spanish Fracaso blood, French Importun blood, whatever you want to call it, doesn't have that refined, sweet taste that wizard blood does. You're most definitely a wizard." She released her grip on Sora's skull, and instead scooped him up in her arms. "And besides, those non-magical sources of starch can't speak our language."

"But who are you?"

"Ah, so because your sister thought you were defective, she didn't bother telling you about her world. Fine. I'm a lamia, born in a brood that migrated here from Greece a long time ago. We're like vampires in that we love blood, but unlike them, we see that blood is not like wine; it does NOT get better with age. In fact, it is instead better the younger the prey, and you exemplify the perfect age group for us to eat, complete with magical ability that so enhances the taste. Many Ministries of Magic have passed laws, however, that make feeding on witches and wizards a crime. In terms of something you'll understand, they like to eat ripe fruit, ambrosia, and leave us to scrape by on rotting remains and peeled skins."

"But what is your name?"

"I myself go by many names. I think, at present, you can call me… let's see… Shakarri."

"You were… born with that name?"

"No. I just heard it a while back and thought it sounded fitting. Besides, I don't use my birth name. I'm not even supposed to be here in the first place."

"Then why come out here?"

"First, that is exactly what makes it exciting. Secondly, I thought I smelled something I could really savor. All the people in the legal predation zones are really stale. Their blood tastes like mud."

"Predation zones?"

"In short, we can hunt as many humans as we damn well please in those zones and nobody in the Ministries will even bat an eye."

"Can't we be friends though? I know I'm human, but-"

"Ssth, I'm smelling fresh blood appearing in the structure. Fine, since you actually seem to have the ability and courtesy to address me in my language. Don't mention that you're a wizard though," she now frantically whispered.

"Why not, Shakarri-nee-san? My sisters will finally be happy!"

"But how will you have suddenly known? I don't want anyone else picking up my scent! Besides, it'll be far better seeing the priceless look on their faces when you get a Mahoutokoro acceptance letter!"

With that, the seaweed-haired lamia quickly slithered out the window and back into the woods, leaving Sora to hear the whispers of his sisters in the floor below.

"…could have sworn I heard something, Misa-chan," Rin was saying.

"It probably isn't anything to concern ourselves over," Misaki stated. " _Homenum revelio_. See, only Sora here."

Knowing he couldn't hide any longer, Sora started walking down to meet his sisters below. As he took step after step, he couldn't help but feel excited, and he entered the downstairs dining room, he saw Misaki and Rin with a large number of shopping bags. It hit him right then: one thing he was supposed to do was make their beds. He ran back up the stairs to Misaki's room and began fumbling with the stark blue sheets, hoping to get them in some kind of order before he was needed downstairs. As he brought the sheets back down onto the bed, he saw one thing that always seemed to be at odds with the rest of the blue-decorated room: a large, vertical rectangular, sashimono-style banner, yellow in colour with small blotches darkening it in certain areas, with a silver silhouette of a human, probably in armor, raising a sword to the sky.

He proceeded to hastily straighten out Misaki's pillows and then leave to deal with Rin's room, but then with a sudden shout of "GET OVER HERE!" from Misaki, Sora jerked backwards, flew down the stairs and right into her outstretched arm. "Took you long enough. Why did you retreat?!"

"I just remembered I needed to straighten something out in your room, Misaki-nee-chan!" said Sora

"What?"

"I was trying to fix up the bed, but you pulled me away before I could finish."

"Give the kid a break, Misa-chan," Rin spoke.

"Rin-nee-chan?"

"Yeah, Sora-kun?"

"What is that yellow picture in Misaki-nee-chan's room?"

"Don't ask que-" Misaki began before Rin waved her down.

"Well," Rin started, "...that banner is the banner of Misa-chan's clan during her school days."

"He will never even see the place, so why bother?!"

"My Mahoutokoro book list should be arriving tomorrow, and they'll probably attach an acceptance letter for Sora. Until my letter comes, I'll keep my fingers crossed. Anyway, we are divided into eight clans at Mahoutokoro School of Magic. Misa-chan's clan was the Steeled Soul, which has that banner. I'm Roaring Flame."

"Is it a good place?" asked Sora

"Yeah. Really fun. Hopefully, you'll get to see it soon. Failing that, we need to take you sightseeing."

"Yes, Rin-nee-chan, I'd really like to see the world." As he said this, Sora thought he saw Misaki's face briefly curl into an angry frown

"Well, if you fail to get into Mahoutokoro, I promise to take you with me when I graduate."

"You will do no such thing, Rin!" Misaki finally declared. Sora felt something rise up within him… a longing… to teach her that she doesn't have authority over him.

"He needs to get out of the house! Being cooped up here all the time isn't good for him!"

"Besides," Sora hissed, "...you don't have the right to imprison me the way you do!"

"What… was… that…?" Misaki was shaking with rage now. "Know your place, Kakushigo! Rin, teach him some respect!"

"Absolutely not!" Rin shouted, shocked at her sister's tone. "Non-magical or otherwise, he is my brother!"

"So it comes to this…" Misaki brandished her wand, pointing it at Rin. " _Imperio!_ "

Rin suddenly turned towards Sora, slowly inserting her hand beneath her robes and withdrawing her own wand, pointing it at him and declaring " _Crucio._ "

Instantly, Sora collapsed onto the ground, writhing with the feelings of hot knives piercing his skin, electrical cables shocking him, his body being crushed by stone blocks and slashed by scythe blades. At the same time, it felt like his skin was freezing so much that it burned. Yet shortly after that, all of it stopped.

"No!" Rin was screaming. "I won't!"

Sora looked up from where he lay on the floor, seeing his older sister's wand on the floor and her hands clutching her head, her eyes closed. Looking then at Misaki, she still had her wand pointed at her. In a flash, Sora leapt up from the ground and ran straight towards her, his fists at the ready… and Misaki turned her wand to face him, whereupon he found himself flying backwards, falling straight towards the front door on the opposite side of the house.

"You will learn respect, you pathetic excuse for a relative," Misaki declared, walking slowly towards him with her wand aimed in his direction.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ " cried Rin, causing Misaki's body to freeze up and topple onto the floor. Quickly running to her downed brother, the younger sister's ruby-red eyes met his glowing emeralds, yet what she could see wasn't gratitude for stopping the one-sided fight, or even happiness to see her come back to her senses. The only thing she saw in his pupils was raw hatred; it was as if a Dementor, instead of draining all happy memories, drained all calming emotions from him, leaving him nothing but a walking husk of pure unbridled rage. Rin couldn't blame him; Misaki's outburst was completely unwarranted, but at the same time, looking into those green eyes so full of poisonous fury felt… suffocating.

Sora's eyes were looking back into hers, but all he saw was a mass of flesh who tortured him upon command. That same mass quickly scooped up the stiff mass on the ground and took it upstairs, presumably to its abode. She quickly came down, scooped Sora up and took him up those same stairs back to his room. "Anything you need, Sora?"

Only two words escaped from his mouth, in little more than a low, menacing hiss. "Get out."

"Wha-" Rin's shock renewed. There was a lot of venom in those words, such that if it physically manifested, it could be fatal

" _Get_ … _out_ …"

"You… you don't mean that…"

" _Torturer_."

"I was under Imperius Control! It's hard to fight that!"

" _OUT!_ "

Rin slammed his door shut, and Sora heard another door slam, and he could swear that he started hearing sobs. Whenever Sora cried, Misaki tried to silence him, and even punished him sometimes for that weak act. Her message was clear: nobody worth anything in the world would ever cry. Only cowards cried, only worthless people cried, and only weaklings cried. Was Rin really that weak, or was she just trying to blackmail him? Whatever the case, he knew he was a wizard, and he was never going to be weak again.

He found himself jerking upwards off the floor, and the next thing he knew was that he was surrounded by trees with green leaves, and he was in the arms of the lamia from earlier. "Shakarri-nee-san?"

"In future, you'll want to save fighting for when you actually have a wand. I applaud your spirit, but you were in over your head."

"You knew?"

"I was close enough to the building to hear what was going on. I also got a peek in through the keyhole."

"So you were there and you did _nothing?!_ " Sora felt even angrier now.

"You have good eyes."

"What do you mean?!"

"Your eyes. I see in them a lot of deserved hatred for those who call themselves wizards. I said before though; I need to keep a low profile. Besides, it is highly unlikely that I would have fared much better, and the Unforgivable Curses are no laughing matter."

"What do you mean 'Unforgivable Curses'?"

"You saw two of them. The Cruciatus Curse you've experienced first hand: torture. Then there is also the Imperius Curse."

"Rin-nee-san tried to use that to excuse her act of torturing me. It's strange, but today I feel I can recognize her words for the lies they are."

"I'd normally be inclined to agree with you, but she may have had a point. The Imperius Curse takes control of your mind, and you are forced to answer to your overseer's every whim. She didn't want to torture you, but the older human took over her mind and made her."

"You're taking her side?!"

"I'm saying you need to know what the curses do, so you can fight them! Your eyes need to see below the skin, right into the brains, veins and bones of the people you are looking at."

"I take it there are more curses?"

"Just one, the most powerful of them all: the Avada Kedavra. Most countries have laws heavily punishing practitioners of these curses, which is why you need to be careful if ever you try to use them."

"What now then?"

"I'll take you back inside, but for today just let things proceed as normal. Wait for the Mahoutokoro letter tomorrow, and wait until you have a wand. Then, I can properly train you…"


	3. Chapter 3: Mail and Maids

Chapter 3: Mail and Maids

Sora very rarely spoke to either of his sisters upon his return to the seaside house, he merely went downstairs to sort the acquired belongings into their proper storage areas. Looking through the items, he saw... a few kimonos, bagfuls of jars containing various slime globules, plant leaves, meat chunks, liquids and other weird substances, packets of food-related products such as tuna, beef, pork, chicken, celery, bananas, potatoes, rice, wasabi, ginger, soy sauce, beans, bread, pastry… maybe it was a better idea to just put the things away rather than waste time searching through them.

The foods (excluding some takoyaki that Sora quickly devoured) were all placed in the refrigerator, the clothes taken upstairs and placed outside Rin's bedroom, and the weird jars set to one side in the downstairs kitchen. From the sounds of things, Rin was still crying crocodile tears, and Misaki still couldn't move. Back downstairs he went, walking towards the glass that exposed the sea. The blue light… maybe now he could see what happened every night. It always seemed to come from below the dining room. Maybe there was an underground floor of some sort, so Sora started looking for possible trapdoors. The dining area didn't seem to have anything; the wooden table and chairs were only just a table and chairs. The kitchen area near the front door didn't look promising either, although when he got to the adjacent bar, right between that room and the dining area, he noticed something inconsistent about the floorboards by a large, rudimentary floor safe at the end: they looked like they were in a state of disrepair; some were missing, and a large board looked loose.

Sora pulled on the loose floorboard, and surprisingly, it slid towards him fairly easily, and when it was fully pulled back, it slotted straight into the bare areas of the bar floor, albeit covering the floor safe. Looking over the bar to the other end, he saw that he exposed a hidden staircase, and quickly ran around the bar to reach it. Slowly making his way down, he wondered what exactly was going on. At the bottom of the staircase, he came across a room that looked as if it was carved into the stone of the cliffside itself, the only signs of artificial construction being more glass panes facing the sea.

The only other thing worth noting was what appeared to be a mural of an archway carved into the opposite wall. The mural had several letters, possibly kanji, carved into each pillar of the archway, but aside from that, there was nothing to indicate why a blue light would shine from here. The temple didn't descend any further, so Sora retreated back upstairs to the dining area's bar and pushed the floorboard back into place. For the rest of the day, things would proceed as if he never found that passageway; he would just prepare food for his two sisters, one of which came down, tried to talk to him with little success and unfroze the other once she calmed down.

The following day, Sora found Rin earnestly waiting by the front door, and she seemed to be rather cheerful in stark contrast to the day-old fight. Misaki was just waiting for food as per her usual habit, and it felt like she too had forgotten the previous day. Quickly turning on the oven to start breakfast, Sora retrieved a few eggs and slices of bread along with a clean frying pan, olive oil, butter and a knife. Once he had everything he needed, a few letters shot through the mail slot in the door, right into Rin's waiting arms. "Well?" Misaki barked.

"Hmm..." Rin said, "...there's my Mahoutokoro letter, a letter from the Ministry's Kōtsū-mon initiative for you Misa-chan, and… jackpot!"

"You mean?" Misaki's voice sounded more loathing than excited.

"Hai, Misa-chan. Sora-kun, come here. Food can wait."

Abandoning the oven, Sora ran to Rin, who handed him a letter. Tearing it open, he found several sheets of washi (mulberry paper), and he unfolded the first one,

"Dear Sugiyama Sora

As summer dawns on our archipelago, it is our pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted to study and board at the Mahoutokoro School of Magic. Please find enclosed a list of study materials and equipment needed to fully facilitate your learning with us. The term begins from the 1st of April.

Please send us your petrel by no later than February 27. We look forward to your reply.

Sincerely

Matsumoto Hazuki

Deputy Headmistress"

As he read this, Sora felt a great sense of satisfaction rise within him. Rin also seemed very excited, quickly withdrawing a calligraphy brush, another sheet of washi, a small bottle of ink and a paperweight from within her kimono and began painting hastily. Misaki, however, looked like she could have not been more appalled by this news; her face was struggling to hide what seemed to be fury, disappointment and hatred all at once. "He's in no state to go. His clothes are all a mess, and he's filthy."

"I can fix that, Misa-chan. _Scourgify_." Rin said, pointing her wand at Sora with her left hand, while using her right to paint a response on the new sheet of paper. His clothes, which had long since lost quite a lot of color, suddenly restored themselves to pristine condition with an aroma of cherry blossom flowers, and the various specs of dirt dotting his skin vanished, hydrating every pore and bringing a scent of freshly-cut grass to his form.

"I'm still not going to make you a Portkey."

"Urusai, Misa-chan! That's what my Floo Powder is for." Rin now packed the sheet, brush, paperweight and ink bottle in her kimono, grabbed Sora by the arm and hauled him upstairs to the lounge fireplace, with Misaki following in rage.

"You can't do this!"

"Says you. I still need to get my own supplies, so may as well take Sora-kun to get his things as well! _Incendio!_ " The logs in the fireplace burst into flames, and Rin threw a clump of green powder on the fire, causing it to turn from its natural orange to an emerald-green color. "Let's go, Sora-kun. Floo Powder flames won't burn."

"Rin-" Misaki began as her sister and brother stepped into the flames.

"Mahou no Mon!" With that, Sora found himself and Rin tumbling through what must have been some sort of tubular void filled with other house interiors just shooting past. As the seconds flew by, the two of them seemed to be slowing down. Finally, they came to a complete stop, and Rin ushered him out into a completely new environment: there were a whole host of other women in strange uniforms, taking trays to people sitting at various tables. "Rin-nee-chan, where are we?" Sora asked

"Where else but Akihabara, Tokyo!" Rin cheered. "More specifically… Yuzu-chan, over here!"

One of the women, with waist-length brown hair, ran towards them. "Good day, Rin-sama. I see you've brought a friend."

"Sora-kun, this is Yuzu."

"A pleasure to meet you, goshujin-sama," Yuzu spoke, bowing to Sora. "Welcome to the Mahou no Mon Maid Cafe and guest house, gateway to the Kagamisekai shopping district. If you need any assistance, feel free to call me at any time."

"Listen, Yuzu-chan, can I get Sora-kun set up in one of the rooms? Misa-chan didn't take his Mahoutokoro letter well at all."

"No problem, Rin-sama. Would you and Sora-sama like to sit down in the meantime."

"Oh hell yes! Strawberry parfait and an omurice for me. What'll you have, Sora-kun?"

"I- I don't know, nee-san."

"In that case, chocolate ice cream with some coffee."

"But how will we pay for this?"

"Don't worry, goshujin-sama," Yuzu assured. "For Rin-ojou-sama's family, it is free. My treat."

"Yuzu-chan and I are classmates at Mahoutokoro. She works here during the holidays, and the pay is good, so she can afford to bankroll our celebration," Rin joined in.

Yuzu led them to a few empty seats and then vanished, leaving Rin and Sora alone at the table. Minutes passed, and neither of them said anything. The coffee and parfait came first, but it was only when she was halfway through the latter that Rin asked "You're awfully quiet today, Sora-kun. You okay?"

"Yes," Sora stated, a bit too strongly for Rin to believe him.

"Come on, what's _really_ going on?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, you can talk to me."

"Nothing"

"Spit it out."

"No."

"Hey, if you can't talk to your kawaii onee-chan, then who CAN you talk to?"

"My friends"

"I am a friend in addition to a sister, am I not?"

"I don't know. Do friends use that torturing curse on each other?"

"Look, Sora-kun, I was under a mind-control curse at the time. Of my own free will, I'd never torture you! Misa-chan made me."

"Why is Misaki-nee-chan so hostile to me?"

"I don't know. At first I thought it was because she thought you were a Ka- that you couldn't do magic, but since you got a Mahoutokoro letter, I would have thought she'd be overjoyed to see you as a wizard. I don't know why she reacted the way she did. That's why I'm having Yuzu-chan set you up here, so you won't have to go back to her."

"So I won't have to see her again?"

"Not for a while, at least. She usually doesn't leave unless she has to, and she knows I can deal with my own book acquisitions. Besides, she can't stand the maid cafe."

"So when do we collect books?"

"Easy there, Sora-kun, let's eat first. Speaking of food… you're awesome, Yuzu-chan."

"Thank you very much, ojou-sama," Yuzu replied, having just arrived at the table with Rin's Omurice and Sora's chocolate ice cream. "I've reserved room eight for your goshujin-sama."

"Thanks, but Sora-kun's eager to get his stuff, so can you show us the way into the Kagamisekai ward when we're done?"

"Not a problem. I need to go into Kagamisekai soon anyway, so can we go together?"

"Most definitely, yes."

Sora, unwilling to wait much longer, finished his ice cream a little too quickly, experiencing a brief headache. Taking out his Mahoutokoro envelope again, he unfurled another list.

"First year students will require:

-Uniform

As his eyes got to this point, he noticed something unusual about the handwriting style in the section; it seemed to be in conflict with the rest of the list. He'd have to ask someone about this later if he could. For the moment, he continued reading.

-Three sets of kimono robes (pink)

-In addition, three pairs of tabi-style socks(black)

-Three pairs of Zori-style sandals

-One conical hat (straw) for outdoor wear

-One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

-One hanten (for cold weather)

-Course books

-The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, translated by Minamoto Rei

-Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, translated by Minamoto Rei

-A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, translated by Sakakibara Hideki

-One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, translated by Sakakibara Hideki

-Records of the Orient by Fujioka Kousaka

-Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, translated by Sakakibara Hideki

-Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, translated by Minamoto Rei

-The Sacred Laws of Kendo by Kimura Chizuru

-Your Immaterial Blade: An Introduction to Defensive Magic by Kimura Chizuru

-Equipment

-1 Wand

-1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

-1 set of glass or crystal phials

-1 shinai (with leather sheath)

-1 telescope

-1 set of brass scales

Parents are reminded that First Year Boarders are not allowed their own broomsticks.

Parents are reminded that use of the Storm Petrels are not permitted for boarding students

Any student wishing to bring a pet must complete the enclosed approval form-"

"Sora-kun?" Rin's voice interrupted, causing him to look up at her with a noticeable scowl. "Oooh, looks like you were enjoying reading through that.

"What is it, Rin-nee-san?"

"Where were you up to?"

"I saw something about an approval form for pets."

"That's more trouble than it's worth. The whole idea seems to be to make sure you're responsible enough to have one, but you only end up backflipping through hoops by the end of it."

"So… they're bewitched?"

"No, they're just end up becoming a pain in the butt with all the pointless little details. For instance, it counts against you if you haven't owned pets before that point, and you are required to state how many live pets you currently have as well as how many of what you intend to buy. Then if you succeed with that, it is down to the brass at Mahoutokoro to-"

"Wait, I thought brass was something to make instruments out of?"

"Not _that_ brass, Sora-kun. Due to the location of Mahoutokoro, the big cheese looks at whether or not the pets can survive there, and then they send the final decision to you via petrel. I've always wanted to have a salamander, but they got really picky about a habitat clash."

"What pets do they allow?"

"Anything as long as they pass regulation. The actual list is waaay too big for me to remember it all. But trust me, you don't want to go through that mess of a procedure, especially not with Misa-chan in rage mode."

"And what's this about broomsticks?"

"Basically, you probably won't know how to fly on brooms yet, so they don't want you to get careless. Worst case scenario, or so I've heard, is that you try to fly on a broom without training, then the next thing you know is that you're in the middle of a snowstorm on Mt Fuji which freezes the bristles, causing you to crash into a tundra and leaving you at the mercy of any number of yuki-onna. So no brooms until you can properly fly on one."

"What's so special about brooms anyway?"

"Well for one thing, they make good transport. Another thing is that our Quidditch is played on brooms. I myself am a Beater for the Roaring Flame Clan's team. There are also Chasers, a Keeper and a Seeker."

"If… if I were to play Quidditch… what do you think I'd be best as?"

"Huh? Dunno, I'd need to see how well you fly on a broom. Besides, first-years don't make their Clan's Quidditch Teams. You definitely don't seem like the Beater type though, and I don't know if Keeper would suit you well. Gimme a few months at Mahoutokoro, then I can tell you for sure."

"Are… there any other sports?"

"Aside from Quidditch? Well, we do have our own variant of the Heimin sport of Kendo; that's why you have a shinai on your stationery list. That is less of a sport and more of a ritual, though."

"Why?"

"You'll see when you get there."

"How good are you at it?"

"Not that great. I'm relatively good at handling a shinai, but I always get penalised for throwing some hand-to-hand into the mix. That whole 'honor' thing just puts me to sleep. I much prefer being Beater; I can whack Bludgers at anyone I don't like and get away with it most of the time!" Rin stated, giggling as she spoke.

"But what now?"

"Now is the moment you've been waiting for, kawaii Sora-kun. Now we go into the Kagamisekai ward!"


	4. Chapter 4: Kagamisekai Ward

Chapter 4: Kagamisekai Ward

Rin and Sora rose out of their seats and followed Yuzu, who was making for one door on one side of the room. Meeting up with her past the door, they found a wall on which hung a large portrait with… a… girl? So far, no girls that Sora had seen looked quite like this girl; she wore the same dress as the maids in the cafe, but her face didn't look truly human... her bubblegum pink hair was tied into two large ponytails that refused to flow down, there were large, pink, fluffy cat ears by the starting point of the pigtails, and she had a large wand with a five-pointed star on the end.

"This is Mon-chan," Yuzu supplied. "She is the result of many hard years of study in the Ministry of Magic's efforts on Heimin research. Rin-sama told me the Ministry here is researching a Heimin tradition called anime, involving people drawn in this style and made to walk and talk by means as yet unknown to us. We have, however, managed to recreate an anime-style character in a portrait, and the result, Mon-chan, guards the gateway to Kagamisekai."

"Nyaa, that's right!" squeaked the anime girl in the portrait. "Say, who's the new kid nyaa?"

"You mean Sora-sama? He's Rin-sama's younger brother and is due to start at Mahoutokoro."

"A new boarding wizard nyaa? So, he need to get some shopping done. How amazing, nyaa! Where do you want to go first, boya?"

"Wand," stated Sora immediately,

"Wand, nyaa. In that case, your first stop is the Tamashi no Yubi Wand Store, where all wands are hand-crafted on site and are guaranteed to bond you with your soulmate in magic! Have a good day nyaa!"

Mon-chan vanished, and her entire portrait had turned to show a line of shops on either side of the road. Rin walked up to the scene depicted and lifted her foot over the bottom frame, somehow stepping directly into the depicted scene itself. "How?" Sora began

"Mon-chan just opened the path to Kagamisekai," Yuzu informed. "Our maid cafe has been rendered unplottable and Heimin repellant, but on the off-chance that one got in, he would theoretically be scared right back out by the anime girl talking to him. Still, she has got quite a lot of knowledge on the district, and can direct wizards anywhere they need to go. The frame, now that she is absent, only frames the path into the ward. Go on."

Sora walked slowly up to the frame, and thrust his arm into where the picture would have been… and hit nothing. Now content that she told the truth, he stepped onto the golden frame and jumped into the stone street, followed by Yuzu. As soon as she was through, the frame returned to showing Mon-chan in her starry background instead of the maid cafe door.

"Listen, Yuzu-chan, can you take Sora-kun to Tamashi no Yubi? I've got to run by Gringotts to get some jade," asked Rin. "I'll deliver Sora's acceptance reply via the petrel office on my way back."

"As you wish. Come with me, Sora-sama, the wand shop is this way," said Yuzu, grabbing his arm and pulling him down one road as Rin ran along another. The two of them ran past many shops, never letting up speed, until a small shrine-type building came into view. The sign on the front read 'Tamashi no Yubi, handmade wands created on site', and the two ran into the shrine itself, encountering a small room divided by a long counter and featuring on one side a few chairs and a straw dummy, and on the other, rows upon rows of shelves, and a man with untidy black hair, who looked up immediately.

"Ryouta, this is Sugiyama Sora-sama. He's come to buy a wand," Yuzu informed.

"Come here, Sugiyama," Ryouta barked, seemingly frantic. Sora approached him, whereupon he looked straight into his small green eyes. "Wait here."

Ryouta ran to one of the shelves and pulled out a rectangular box. Opening it, he placed a wand on the counter in front of him. "10 inches, ash, dragon heartstring. We'll see if you match with the closest thing I have to your sister Rin's wand. It's not a 14 inch, ash phoenix feather, but it should work. Take it and wave it at the dummy!"

Grabbing the wand, Sora tried to get a good feel for it, but something didn't seem right. He made a slashing movement at the dummy, but it felt… heavy, and too hot.

"Back here!" barked Ryouta. Sora handed back the wand, while he ran back to the shelves, looked for a while, and pulled out another box. Placing the new wand onto the counter, he continued "15 inches, cherry and yuki-onna hair. Let's see if you're closer to Misaki."

Again, Sora slashed at the dummy, but the wand seemed to want to disobey, and Ryouta ordered it back, coming back with another cherry wand, this time with a unicorn tail hair core, seven inches. "Surprised you didn't ask for cherry when you got in here. All the little wizards want a cherry wand. Guarantees a lot of power, and if you don't own one, you're essentially a nobody."

For the third time, Sora slashed at the dummy, but again, nothing happened. After the seventh failed wand, Ryouta called his assistant, Sachi, to try and help. Looking at the new arrival, Sora could swear he recognised Sachi before: yellow slit-pupiled eyes, dark purple stripes descending from those eyes down her cheeks, seaweed green hair… and she raised a finger to her lips. "Quiet"

"You okay, Sachi?" Ryouta asked.

"Yes, just a bit of a bad throat today," Sachi replied.

"Well, I've got the third of the Sugiyama kids here today, and he doesn't seem compatible with either of his sisters. I've also tried out a whole bunch of other wands, but he seems to reject cherry altogether and, no matter what I can think of, nothing else seems to fit him."

"Hmmm… ash also not good?"

"No. Hazel is also a bad match. So far, he is also putting every core that I have to shame. No results with dragon heartstring, yuki-onna hair, unicorn tail hair, tengu feather, kelpie mane, jorougumo thread, kirin horn…"

"Hmmm… rejection of such a variety… maybe we will have better luck with _that_ wand."

"You can't be serious. That's the only one of its type that I've been able to make! Besides, if it wouldn't sell with so many other people, why would it make an exception now?"

"For one thing, that wand and Sugiyama-san have evidently got that aspect in common. It's worth a try."

"Fine," Ryouta sighed, running off behind the shelves once more while Sachi winked at Sora. Later, the new wand was placed on the counter. As soon as Sora picked this one up, he felt something he hadn't felt with the others; he felt that he was faster, deadlier, more agile… he slashed at the dummy, and three massive gashes appeared in the fabric and straw.

"I believe we have a match."

"I-impossible."

"What was this wand?" Sora asked.

"Nine and a half inches, enigmatic, redwood and runespoor fang. My pride and joy until it mismatched with so many people I was almost ready to declare it defective and snap it."

"And the best part…" Sachi announced, having to fight back laughter, "...is that you constantly lowering the price to get it sold means that he only has to pay fifty Jade Ryō for it!"

"Jade Ryō?" asked Sora

"Huh? That's pocket money when it comes to wand prices. I can pay right now if you'd like, Sora-sama," Yuzu offered, and upon Sora's nod, she produced fifty jade-colored coins from a pocket in her outfit and handed them to Ryouta, who put the wand into a similar-looking box to the others, wrapped it up in kendo-themed wrapping paper and handed it to him, fuming all the while. "Anyway, Sora-sama, Jade Ryō is our currency, similar to the Ryō used in the past, but much more valuable due to the jade in making them as opposed to the traditional gold. Normally, wands go for about three to four hundred of those coins. The coins themselves have different values depending on their size and their jade composition, but I'll get into that later."

"And as a special added bonus," Sachi announced, handing another wrapped item to Sora, "...is with this wand, you get a free fortune. It only works if you are alone when you open it though, and in a closed room. It's rather picky for a fortune, but these ones are very rarely wrong, so it's well worth a look."

Walking out of the shop, Sora next made a request to get robes, causing Yuzu to guide him back down the street. until they came to a shop called The Spring Obi. As they entered, they were guided to a seat, and after a few minutes, a woman in a kimono approached them. "So, Yuzu, what are you looking for?"

"It's not me, ojou-sama, it is Sora-sama here. He's going to Mahoutokoro."

"Ah, his sister Rin told me he'd be coming today, I wasn't expecting him for a while though.." Turning to look at Sora, the attendant continued. "Do you have any experience putting on a kimono?"

"No," replied Sora.

"In that case, follow me." She grabbed Sora by the arm and pulled him past the other rows of kimonos, obis and other accessories to a room labelled 'First-time fitters'. Once inside, she had Sora strip until he was only wearing undergarments, placed a tape measure around his arm and waist, disappeared for a minute and came back with a nagajuban. After having him slip into the new undergarment, she walked him through each step of proper procedure in donning the rest of the kimono, having him carry out the instructions she gave and bringing in more parts as they became necessary. Finally, he finished with the black obi, and was taken back to the front desk, where he saw Rin. "You've never looked so cute, Sora-kun."

""Rin-nee-chan?"

"Just came from the post office; they are aware of your attendance at Mahoutokoro. Anyway, Tachibana-chan, can we throw in one more Mahoutokoro kimono for him? And also three other plain kimonos in… what color do you want, Sora-kun?"

"I'll take green,"

"Three greens then."

"It's going to be costly," warned the attendant. "I've still got to get the hanten, zori, tabi and hats to tally."

By the end of it, Sora was fully dressed in not only the kimono, but the wide hat, tabi socks and zori sandals, bringing tears of joy to Rin's eyes. Rin had taken his old clothes and supposedly vanished them to his room at the maid cafe.

"But isn't this going to be a little much, even considering Sora-sama's new school supplies?" Yuzu asked as they entered a different street.

"Well, yeah, and Misa-chan wants some jade left over, but I took out a little extra. Our secret revenge, and besides, Sora-kun looks quite good in a kimono."

"Where are we going now?"

"Well. what say we get the books and stock up on ingredients before we get back to Mahou no Mon?"

"Actually, come to think of it, the Toyotomi Menagerie is close to where we are now, and I've been asked to buy a few more skylarks for the cafe. I'll have to split off here, so see you back by Mon-chan."

"Sayounara, Yuzu-chan!"

Rin and Sora continued walking, with the day blurring into a haze of crisscrossing street after street and shop after shop, until eventually they found themselves back at the portrait of Mon-chan, the gatekeeper. The sun was setting, casting an orange glow over the sky, and all of Sora's equipment was taken up to his room while he and Rin walked to the fireplace in the maid cafe. "You are really going back?" Sora hissed as the fires within turned emerald-green.

"Don't look at me like that. Misa-chan is our sister, and I need to see if she is alright."

"I am not following you home."

"I'm not asking you to, or else I wouldn't have had Yuzu-chan set you up here."

"Acceptable."

"Not even a 'thank you'?"

"Fine. Thank you, Rin-nee-san, for your help today and for the pain yesterday."

"You... just aren't going to let that go, are you? I'll stay with Misa-chan for a few nights. If you want to see me again, ask Yuzu to contact me."

Rin stepped into the emerald fire without another word, but with a few tears streaking down her cheeks again. Once she was inside, she declared "Ishi no Keiro temple!" and vanished in a puff of more green flames before they returned to their usual orange color.

"That was a little harsh, goshujin-sama," Yuzu's voice sounded behind him.

"So I take it you would rather see her use a torture curse on me?" Sora stated, more as a declaration than a question.

"The Cruciatus Curse? No, goshujin-sama, Rin-sama wouldn't ever do that!"

"All it took was for Misaski-nee-chan to say Imperio before she happily obliged to cause me pain."

"That makes it clearer; Rin-sama wouldn't do such a thing if it was up to her!"

"Up to her or not, she still did it. I've spent too long receiving pain, having my feelings trampled over, being called a Kakushigo and being forced into doing their every whim without me getting a chance to be me."

"She's given you a chance to be yourself now! Can't you forgive her? Can't you and your family be friends again?"

"I've been forgiving her and Misaki-nee-chan for ten long years because I didn't know any better. I was continually forced to forgive them after they forbade me from asking questions, I had to forgive them when they continuously insulted me, I had to forgive them when they struck me on the bum with a hot pan for the crime of not preparing food fast enough for their liking and I had to forgive them for continuously pushing me down when I tried to stand up. I know what I am now: I am not a slave that forgives every man or woman who lashes him when he falls down."

"You… you don't even know what forgiveness is, do you, Sora-sama? I agree that you shouldn't take that abuse lying down, but I also know how Rin-sama feels. She just wants you to be a part of the family. A lot of that sounds like Misaki, and of course you shouldn't let her get away with harming you, but why does Rin-sama have to suffer as well?"

"Because she made me suffer 'as well', Yuzu-nee-chan."

"Nee...chan?"

"I've been trying to read up on Heimin family definitions in the past from what books Rin-nee-chan got back, and I read that a sister is someone who is blood-related and cares about you. Barring one other person, you're the only one who has been nice to me."

"T-thank you, Sora-sama, but I still think you should try sort things out with Rin-sama."

"Not tonight. I want to try and learn as much magic as possible. Can you take me to my room?"

"Sure, but are you sure you don't want to talk to Rin-sama?"

"Very sure."

"Talk to her. Please, Sora-kun, if not now, then later tonight! I can stay here if you want to contact-"

"I don't."

"Maybe not now, but later-"

"I won't."

"Okay... come this way, Sora-sama."

Yuzu led Sora up a flight of stairs to a long, pink corridor dotted with doors on either side. As he walked past, he saw that each door on one side of the corridor had a number on it. Room 3, 4, 5, and the other side's doors had nameplates attached instead. Before long, Yuzu stopped him at Room 8, handed him a key with the number '8' and beckoned him inside. The room was fairly large compared to his room at the temple, and looked much cleaner. There was a large futon laid out on the tatami floor, there was an open shoji on the opposite wall from the door, a hibachi brazier in each corner, a low table and a few cupboards. All of the supplies that they had bought were in a large pile situated between the table and futon.

"Page me if you need me, Sora-sama," said Yuzu as he stepped into the room, closing the door behind him shortly after. Now, finally, he opened the package he received from the Sachi woman in the wand shop, and pulled out… a red envelope. As he opened this secondary envelope, a voice filled the room… a pleasantly familiar voice.

"Hello, Sora. After our meeting yesterday, I knew you'd soon make your way to Akihabara to buy your equipment. I therefore spent all of last night travelling to meet you. Tomorrow, at sundown, make your way to the Kuro no Hikari dojo in Kagamisekai. I need to teach you a few choice spells."

The next words seemed fairly… different, somehow, "Your hidden talent will be unleashed for the whole world to see." Now, this voice he definitely knew, and now knowing there was something more to look forward to the next day, Sora was unable to keep from being excited...


	5. Chapter 5: Sora's First Spell

Chapter 5: Sora's First Spell

The next day went by in a haze of excitement for Sora. He barely registered Yuzu's attempts to get him to contact Rin, and even the meals whizzed by forgettably. Most of the time, he was trying to instead get a feel for spellcasting, but he wasn't sure where to start. The most he could get working was the _Lumos_ spell, which at present seemed quite useless as all it did was create a light at the tip.

Finally, the sun started to set, and Sora left his room, stepping out into the area behind the maid cafe where Mon-chan's portrait resided. "Hello, Sora-nyaa!"

"Kuro no Hikari dojo," Sora stated bluntly.

"That's mean, boya! Not even a 'hello'?" The background in Mon-chan's portrait suddenly became a large meadow with an overcast sky, to the point that very little sunlight broke through.

"Are you going to let me through or not?"

"Y-you meanie! Why d-do you have to be such a m-mon-ster?!" Tears started falling down her eyes, and rain began bucketing down from the sky in the picture.

"I need to get through to Kuro no Hikari dojo, now _move_!"

"If you're… going to be like this… you may as well… just sit out here!"

"Sora-sama?" Yuzu's voice sounded from behind the cafe door. "Wha- Mon-chan, are you okay?"

"N...no, Yuzu-chan! This kid is being such a m-m-meanie! Just treats… me… like some kind of… of… tool!"

"What did he say?"

"J-just told me a destination… but no hello… nothing… and he just… expects me… to behave like.. a doll!"

"Stop your weakness, picture!" Sora barked.

"S-so cruel!"

"Whenever I cried, I was severely punished for it. Punishment for showing weakness. And besides, why should I consider you a friend? You just stay here guarding a gateway, and you can't even do that right!"

"Sora-sama, Mon-chan does have feelings, and you're just trampling all over them at your leisure!" said Yuzu.

"What feelings? It is just a framed picture!"

" _She_ has been enchanted to feel exactly the same as we do. How would you feel if your sisters treated you like just an object?"

"They've been doing that for as long as I can remember, and I'm sick of putting up with it!"

"Then consider how Mon-chan feels. You're doing to her what Misaki-sama has done to you! If you hate that, then you have no excuse to treat Mon-chan this poorly! Now apologize to her!"

"Fine. I'm sorry for telling the truth, and for this sudden act of weakness on my part!"

Mon-chan's bawling did not cease.

"I apologize for not asking you how your day is going and for treating you like a cockroach."

"D-do you really mean that, S-Sora-nyaa?"

"Yes. What exactly do you do though, just so I know to avoid my mistake here?"

"Well…" it stopped raining in Mon-chan's picture, but the sky remained an ominous grey, "...I guard the entrance to Kagamisekai-nyaa. I also advise people on where to find what they're looking for, and a number of people have even stopped to chat with me-nyaa, which I find really heart-warming."

"What exactly is there to be gained from such talk? I have never understood that."

"You can't be serious-nyaa! You mean you've never spoken to people before?"

"Aside from my sisters, Yuzu-nee-chan, a few… friends, and a couple of store owners, no."

"Well, you ask these questions to get to know the people you are chatting with! Life's no fun with no friends, so it is good you have a few, but you don't really know small talk, do you nyaa?

"Small talk? Like… whispering?"

"Nyaa no! I mean just idle conversation like 'How are you' or 'Are you doing well', and the like. People who just dive right in and make demands aren't people you want to be around-nyaa."

"Listen, Mon-chan, I am in a hurry. Can you please direct me to the Kuro no Hikari dojo?"

"Much better, nyaa! Go all the way up to the Arch road, right behind me, until you get to the Tengu Feathers path. From there, take a left until you run into the Shirayuki road, take a right, and it will be the fourth building on your left. You can't miss it. Have a nice day nyaa!"

"Thanks. And thank you, Yuzu-nee-chan," Sora spoke as Mon-chan vanished to reveal the road behind her.

"Sure, Sora-sama. Just… maybe come see me after my shift is over. I want to give you a few conversation lessons."

"Okay. Bye for now!" Sora ran through the framed hole, keeping an eye on the signs of each road to see where he was going. Eventually, he found the Tengu Feathers path, and turning into this new road, he spat. "Finally."

The sky was now darkening fairly quickly, but eventually, Sora found the Shirayuki road. First building on his left… second building… third… he found it: two large shinai crossed to form the entrance to what appeared to be a large room, full of people trying to attack each other with much smaller shinai. For some reason, occasionally he'd hear some sort of explosion inside, comparable to what Heimin scientists might call a 'sonic boom', although at a comparatively extremely low volume. No matter how much he looked inside from the entrance, he couldn't find any source.

"Over here, Sora," a voice hissed from around the right side of the building. Looking there, he saw…

"Shakarri-nee-chan?"

"Follow me." The seaweed-haired lamia disappeared into the alleyway, Sora giving chase.

Not until they ventured deep into the alley, where they resembled little more than shadowed figures, did the lamia stop. "Shakarri-nee-chan, is everything okay?"

"I just don't want to be overheard."

"W-weren't you at the wand store?"

"I was. It takes an annoying amount of tail-work on my part, but with enough effort, I can masquerade as a human. I only really do it in very small groups, though, but when I do, I use my 'Sachi' persona."

"Still, I'm glad I've finally got a wand. Now I can fight-"

"Hold it, you haven't yet learned anything in the way of spellwork. That's part of the reason I called you here."

"Speaking of spells, though, could you hear booms coming from inside the dojo? I couldn't see what was making them."

"Good ears. You must have been hearing Speed Magics. From what I gather, it is a rather interesting form of sorcery unique to Japan. It is a branch of magic that focus on speeding yourself up, but other than that, I don't really know what it entails."

"When we met, didn't you use speed magic to climb up to my window?"

"Huh? No, lamias can just move that fast, if not a little faster. It comes with being a predatory race. Anyway, I want to show you a few spells I know of before you leave for Mahoutokoro."

"You… know magic?"

"I myself know a little bit, but not much. Due to our status as 'beasts', we're not considered worthy of possessing wands. That wand you have was originally supposed to be mine."

"Really? Does this mean I'll-"

"No, that wand is yours. I paid that wandmaker a handsome amount of jade and even gave him the core to use in crafting a wand of my own, which I wanted to take possession of upon completion. However, it appeared incompatible with me. But it found its match with you, so I consider it an acceptable trade-off. Anyway, we're getting a bit too off-topic."

"Oh, the spells. What are they?"

"I remember you describing a snake as your brother. This spell will ensure that you are never alone unless you wish to be. Also, with you being able to speak our language, it will listen to you, and you can use it to good advantage in a Duel. Wand out, and aim it down the alley behind you."

Drawing his wand from within his green kimono, Sora turned around and raised his wand..

"Good. Now, say the following word: Serpensortia."

" _Serpensortia!_ "

At this command, a long, green snake burst from the tip of his wand and landed with a loud, wet thud further up the alley.

"Heh, you've picked it up a lot faster than I thought you'd be able to. Good. However, if you don't use it during a Duel and you instead want to talk with it, you will have to dispose of it when you are done, or else you'll draw a lot of unwanted attention."

"Is it really necessary?"

"I'm afraid so. Now, continue aiming at the snake, and say; Vipera Evanesca."

"O-okay. _Vipera Evanesca!_ "

A wisp of red light shot from his wand, striking the snake and causing it to evaporate in a puff of green smoke. But as he saw its form dissipate, he felt something… strange. He felt like he wanted the snake back. It was as if he… took a friend's life.

"Do not worry, Sora. I know what you are thinking, but with those spells, you will never be truly alone."

"But, Shakarri-nee-chan, why will this be a problem to show people my gift?"

"Trust me, they will hate you for it. Did either of your brood sisters tell you about the legend of Britain's Harry Potter?"

"Who is that?"

"I guess not. For eleven years until 1981, Britain was terrorized by one wizard calling himself Lord Voldemort. He was another one who showed snakes courtesy by speaking our language, but as far as I could tell, he was interested in little more than power and longevity. In the year of 1981, he put down Harry Potter's parents, but his curse failed to kill the boy. In a way, by casting it, he unwittingly carried out an assisted suicide."

"Why was he so famous then?"

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's that a country never completely forgets its dictators. Besides, from what I've been able to piece together, Voldemort had a few failsafes in place to tether him here to this world, making the suicide little more than a spiritual molting. He managed to get his body back about thirteen years later, spent one year in hiding and two more years fighting the British Ministry of Magic and consolidating his power by crushing what he perceived to be impurities in his little empire. However, at the height of his power, Harry Potter cast him down for good."

"What does that have to do with people speaking the language we speak?"

"Because, due to actions like Voldemort's and other so-called Dark Wizards, the ability to speak to us was considered to be evil in human society. Aside from which, news travels fast when it comes to witches and wizards. If it becomes known you can talk to us, you will be rejected by society as yet another Dark wizard waiting to happen."

"That doesn't sound so bad. We could be together. Besides, why would I want to fit into normal wizarding society? My sisters treated me poorly, so why should I bother?"

"It's called espionage. It is much easier to see your enemies' weaknesses when they have no reason to suspect you. In any case, it isn't a good idea to cut yourself off from all communication. You might find some good skins to wear. Speaking of which, I'm surprised you didn't have to shake off your one brood-sister."

"Rin-nee-chan? She's succumbing to weakness with Misaki-nee-chan back at their temple. She wants me to contact her if I want to see her again, although I like it better without either of them."

"Sora… where do I begin? I can understand you tiring of your brood, but you are letting a golden opportunity to study your enemy slip through your fingers!"

"So what do you suggest I do then?"

"Contact her. Ask her to come back. Have her take you places. I've got a feeling she would be able to better explain the Speed Magics you saw in the dojo. Let her help you with your exploration of Kagamisekai and the greater wizarding world. You can use that to find more of her weaknesses, think up ways to exploit them, and maybe even find an excellent use for her."

"But I don't feel connected to her at all."

"You don't have to be. Instead, you must just make it appear that you do."

"But I still want to be able to talk to you. You've been more of a sister to me than they have! I don't want to lose contact with you."

"I never said that you'd break contact with me by talking to her, but we'd need to be cautious about it. Hmm… I remember seeing something that could help us… Give me three days, then meet me here at this dojo again on the fourth."

"Three days?"

"Yes. And for that time, stay away from the Kobashigawa Reliquary. And don't mention what we've discussed to anyone else."

"What will you be up to?"

"You'll see. Three days. In the meantime…"

Later that night, when Sora finally stumbled into the maid cafe from Mon-chan's gateway, he found Yuzu asleep at the bar, and the rest of the place deserted. She gave off a loud yawn, opened her eyes and mumbled "Sora-san, what took so long? I was waiting up all night."

"Sorry, Yuzu-nee-chan, but I was just exploring Kagamisekai."

"Up until this time of night? Almost everywhere would have been closed."

"Still, it looked so interesting, I couldn't stop myself."

"Just please, next time you go exploring, can you rather do so when you know you'll be back before sundown?"

"Uh… okay. I'm sor...sorry to be a bother, but is there any food left? I'm starving."

"The maid cafe is officially closed, and I think the supper period ended an hour ago, so I can't really make anything substantial. There might be a few dessert items I can scrounge from the stores, but the main cooking staff has gone home for the night."

"That'll be fine, thanks."

"Okay. I'll be-"

"Wait, Yuzu-nee-chan, can I ask you a few questions first?"

"About what?"

"What is Mahoutokoro like?"

"It's one thing you have to experience for yourself. Honestly, I think third-party retellings don't do it justice."

"What exactly are Clans? I've heard there are eight, but are they important?"

"In a way, they are. Each student is selected for one of the eight Clans, and it basically determines who you will be spending most of your years with. I am of the Reverent Sky Clan."

"Is that Rin-nee-chan's Clan as well?"

"No, Rin-sama is of the Roaring Flame Clan."

"Wouldn't that make you enemies?"

"Not really, Sora-sama, more just friendly academic rivals. People are allowed to make friends with other Clans, although we still try our best for our own."

"What Clan do you think I will be a part of?"

"Honestly, I cannot answer that question. The ritual picks the best choice for you, and it is a much better judge than me. I know Rin-sama would be ecstatic if you were chosen for the Roaring Flame though."

"What is the ritual?"

"Technically, we're not supposed to talk about it to fresh boarders, so I'm afraid you'll have to see for yourself. It's not difficult, though."

"Can- can you maybe bring Rin-nee-chan here?"

"Huh? Why?"

"I want her to help me learn some new spells. Besides, she knows more about Kagamisekai than me, and I can see you are quite busy here, so I would like her to show me around."

"Okay, but it is too late tonight. I'll contact her tomorrow morning. In the meantime, let's find you something to eat before you go to bed."


	6. Chapter 6: Rin's Return

Chapter 6: Rin's Return

As the morning came, Sora was up early, trying to learn a few new spells, but unable to make sense of much. The only things that the Standard Book of Spells contained seemed to be purely for mundane purposes, such as the Locking and Unlocking Charms, as well as a Softening Charm. Rin's Cruciatus Curse could easily beat all of the useless junk here, so he needed something that was more offensive in nature.

"Sora-sama," Yuzu's voice rang from the other side of his closed door after some time. "You have a visitor."

"Who is it?" Sora called back.

"Didn't you ask Yuzu-chan to call me, Sora-kun?" a third voice called.

"Rin-nee-chan? Is that you?"

"Hai. What are you up to?"

"J-just trying to learn spells. It isn't working though! There's nothing useful in this book!"

"Woah, slow down. You're only a beginner, you won't be able to use complex magic right away. Look, can you open up? It's really weird talking to a door."

"Okay," Sora declared before walking to and opening his door, finding his sister in a bright red kimono, and then finding himself colliding with her as she pulled him into a hug. "Rin-nee-"

"Let's talk downstairs, I'm starving."

Rin, Sora and Yuzu descended into the main maid cafe just as people were walking in from Kagamisekai, and the three managed to find a table closest to the bar before Yuzu left to arrange their order: a heart-shaped curry dish for the older sister, and a poodle-shaped cake for the younger brother. "So, Sora-kun, I understand you've been trying to learn a few spells. How's that going?"

"Poorly," Sora stated. "I can only create a light at the tip of my wand. Nothing else works."

"There's a lot more to spellcasting than you'd originally think."

"But still, all the spells that I've seen in that book so far are useless. Nothing defensive."

"Like I said upstairs, you have to start small. If you like, I can try help you with some spells, but you'd need to be trained up in general wand use before I can teach you some of the really cool ones."

"You'd… help me?"

"Hai. Misa-chan helped me with my spellwork when I was starting, and she was top of her year if I remember correctly. I'm not nearly at that level in my years, but since I know she won't help you, I'll do what I can."

"Speaking of which, how is Misaki-nee-chan?"

"In some ways, it got a bit scary, Sora-kun. I know she didn't expect you to be a wizard, but it didn't occur to me that she was _counting_ on you not to go to Mahoutokoro. She's petitioning to the Ministry for a retainer, so we can take care of the more domestic needs of the household, but it will take a while to process. In the meantime, she's had me helping with the cooking."

"I feel so much better without her, though."

"I can tell, Sora-kun. However, we may have to see her again sometime down the line. Your letter should also have had a ferry ticket for the Harumi Passenger Ship Terminal, and she usually comes to see me off there."

"Harumi Passenger Ship Terminal?"

"In the Port of Tokyo. We take a ferry from there to the hidden Mahou no Shima, where Mahoutokoro is located."

"How will we get there?"

"There's a place close to there connected to the Floo Network. I can take you, then we walk from there."

At that moment, Sora thought he heard a very faint boom, and then the rear door to Kagamisekai swung open, followed by another BOOM, this one much more noticeable, and the appearance of a man in a black kimono directly in the center of the cafe. "Everyone here, please be aware that there is a robbery in progress at the Kobashigawa Reliquary. Until further notice, nobody is to approach the Reliquary or the surrounding shops."

"Huh? What happened? What do they want?" Rin shouted.

"They are demanding nine hundred Jade Ryō and safe-passage to the Kuchisake-Onna District. I will say this again; nobody is to approach the Kobashigawa Reliquary until further notice."

"Sounds fun!"

"Sugiyama-san, we have orders not to let non-Ministry personnel into the crime scene. Not even you."

"You're such a buzz-kill. Fine."

And with another loud _boom_ , he vanished, although Sora thought he saw him edge forward as he did so. The food also arrived at the same time, but just before he started to cut into the poodle cake, he couldn't resist asking: "How did he do that?"

"You mean Speed Magic?" Rin asked, shovelling curry and rice into her mouth. "It's usually reserved for sixth-year study, and by that time the classes have been cut down quite a bit. What I do know is that you use magic to speed yourself up, but it is mainly nonverbal."

"Can you see people who use Speed Magic?"

"If you have some proficiency in Speed Magic yourself, then yes. Otherwise, it is very difficult to spot, even for witches and wizards, although we are at an advantage in that our magical reflexes are higher than the wizards of other countries."

"Our reflexes?"

"Japan is one of the few countries in the world with wizards that employ Speed Magics. With that, we can instinctively react when we are confronted with them, although being able to counter them properly is still quite a nightmare."

"How does one learn them?"

"Beats me. I'm only fifth year."

"Then what defensive magic _can_ I learn at this stage?"

"Hmmm… the only such spell that I think you'd be able to handle at your current level is the Knockback Jinx."

"Just knockback?"

"Pretty much, although if you use it right, it can save your skin against even fully-trained wizards."

"When can we start practising?"

"Huh? Slow down there, we still have food to finish, and I need to think of a good 'where' to practice."

For the next hour, Rin and Sora ate in total silence. As they finished their meal, she finally thought of a suitable location to practice, and took him into Kagamisekai (with Mon-chan providing a warning beforehand that nobody was to approach the Reliquary until the Aurors had the situation under control), eventually bringing him to a dead end inside a small alleyway that featured little more than garbage cans. The two of them drew their wands, and Rin began speaking. "It's fairly simple, but once you can master it, you've got a basic defense that can aid you in duels."

"How does it work?"

"Well, Sora-kun, I just wave my wand like so..." Rin flicked it slightly down, then sharply upwards before dipping it slightly and raising it again, "...and then I say…" finally pointing it at one of the garbage cans, "... _Flipendo!_ "

"Amazing," Sora gasped, as the can blasted itself into the wall before upending its contents all over the ground.

"You wanna give it a try?"

"Oh yes!" Sora raised his wand and, seeing his sister's hand movements, did his best to emulate them before aiming at the downed garbage can and shouting " _Flipendo!_ " Again, the can flew off the ground to crash into the wall behind and expel the remainder of its contents.

"Well well, you're quite a quick learner, Sora-kun."

"Rin-nee-chan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"Can I test it on you?" Sora turned to face his sister.

"Huh? Why would you want to-"

" _Flipendo!_ "

Rin flew backwards into the wall of the alleyway, before looking up with an annoyed look on her face. "What was that for, Sora-kun?"

"I think that makes us even for now."

"Even?"

"Yes. I can now be at peace with what happened that day, and we can be siblings again."

"Really? Haha, then I guess me getting knocked on my can is a small price to pay."

"What have we here?" a third voice growled from behind them- a man in a tan-colored yukata with his wand pointed at them. "I wondered what was making such a racket."

"Uh, just who are you supposed to be?"

"Nobody… but I don't believe this! I've got one of the Sugiyama Sisters! Who's the kid?"

"You mean Sora-kun? He's my brother."

"Even better. Your older sister is going to pay for what she did! Wands on the ground! Now!"

Sora bit his lip; without a wand, he had no way to defend himself. He wasn't going to stand for this, so he instead waved it in preparation for a Knockback Jinx when it flew out of his hand. A jet of red light hit him in the chest, forcing him to the ground. "Sora-kun!" Rin yelled.

"Last warning. Wand. Ground. Now."

"Fine, just don't hurt him!" she pleaded, bending down. When she straightened herself up, her hands were empty.

"That's better-"

Suddenly, Rin's hands became a blur before clasping together, almost like a combined fist but with both index and middle fingers jutting out and pressed against those on the other hand. A large ball of fire shot from her mouth and enveloped the aggressor's face.

"Whaaaaa-"

"Ka jutsu, Honō no ketsugō. Flame Bond. For hurting my brother like that, I'll make you suffer."

"Rin...nee...chan…" Sora gasped, slowly standing up as the man, now with a flaming head, dived into another garbage can to try and extinguish the blaze. "What… is… that?"

"Sora-kun? This is Ninjutsu, a form of magic that is unique to Japan. I think it was developed by wizards who became ninja during the feudal period or somesuch. I don't really care for those details. The important bit is that you can use it without a wand, although it takes a lot of training."

"I heard what you said about making him suffer. Aren't you going to use Crucio on him?"

"Haha, there's no need for me to go that far. Besides, one downside is that the Cruciatus Curse doesn't leave a lasting mark. This way…" she grunted, causing the flames to vanish and leave the robber's head a bald, soot-blackened mess, as if he was a cartoon character who had something blow up in his face, "...he can remember what he's done."

Finding his wand, Sora limped towards it and picked it up, but their aggressor started running away.

" _Accio_ moron!" Rin called, raising her wand, and his body flew back towards them.

" _Flipendo_ ," Sora chanted, blasting him back down the alley.

"Nice, Sora-kun. One more for luck?"

"Yes…"

" _Accio!_ "

" _Flipendo!_ "

"Ah, one more. _Accio!_ "

" _Flipendo!_ This is quite fun."

"Yeah, although I think we need to give it a rest. If we continue this, we might be summoning back his lunch, and I'd rather not look like someone who was in the immediate vicinity of someone who's had a Puking Pastille."

"What is that?"

"Oh, a sweet from Britain. Part of the Skiving Snackbox of the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes joke shop, imported to Kagamisekai by our equivalent, the Kitsune Dens. Basically, you eat one half of a sweet and it makes you ill, and when you are out of the class, you eat the other half for a full recovery. I'd say the Nosebleed Nougat is the most fun though."

"Why Nosebleed Nougat?"

"Because in Heimin Lore lessons, we learned that nosebleeds in Heimin anime are a sign of being a pervert. So all you do is break it in half, hand an unsuspecting guy the trigger, open your kimono enough to expose a little bit of yourself as he eats, then as his nosebleed begins, you offer him the remedy and a promise to not spread rumors that he snuck a peek at your boobs if he agrees to run a few errands for you upon your request."

"Why does that remind me of Misaki-nee-chan?"

"She's more the direct approach type, finding evidence beforehand and using that to blackmail people into working for her. Failing that, she's also got the Imperius Curse. Besides, she's too much of a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to methodical creativity to even think of that little trick."

"But I could use this trick as well?"

"I'm afraid not, Sora-kun. The prank only works if a girl initiates it, preferably one with a large chest. Besides, just who exactly would you want to prank at this stage of your life?"

"I just keep hearing that I need to make friends. I hoped something like that would be an effective tool to keep others around me."

"Sora-kun… where do I begin? You sound like making friends is like trying to take hostages. Just talk to people, get to know them, be nice to them. You'll be surprised how quickly they'll want to have your company."

"That's going to take forever!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm pretty sure there's someone who will take to you fairly quickly. Just be yourself."

"Hahaha, myself? Just who would want to see me as I am?!" The only people Sora could think of that would accept him for who he was were the lamia Shakarri and the snakes.

"Me, for one thing. Yuzu-chan also seems to like you. Just let nature take its course. And don't worry if you don't get it right the first time; it isn't a competition."

"I know… Misaki-nee-chan would call it a failure."

"And don't pay any attention to what Misa-chan's said to you in the past either. Just start chatting and let things flow."

"With who exactly?"

"That I leave up to you, Sora-kun. Now that we've finished practice, I want to see if we can sneak a peek at the situation of the Kobashigawa Reliquary..."


	7. Chapter 7: A Rude Awakening

Chapter 7: A Rude Awakening

Sora found himself feeling uncomfortable as Rin pulled him forward from the alley. Shakarri's instructions for him were very clear: wait three days, and stay away from the Reliquary during that time. "Why are you so interested at what is happening there, Rin-nee-chan?"

"Tactics like that are usually carried out by Dishonorables. I've always wanted to catch one."

"What do you mean 'Dishonorables'?"

"Dark Magic users in short. Always wanted to catch one, and I'd rather we concentrate on getting there so we can stop our little robbery-in-progress."

"What is Dark-"

"Not now, Sora-kun! I just said we have criminals to catch, so let's keep moving!"

Sora didn't know how to feel about this. Rin had begun to get somewhat tolerable, and Shakarri said he needed to keep up the relationship with his sister, thus had to spend more time with her. On the other hand, his mentor's orders were clear regardless of what his sister wanted. Yet, for some reason, he felt he might like to go with Rin, at very least because Misaki wasn't around. But who exactly helped him realize who he truly was?

With a great tug, Sora yanked his arm out of Rin's grip, and ran in the opposite direction. From where they walked, he was sure he could find his way back to the maid cafe. It sounded like Rin didn't even try and retrieve him, as he couldn't hear any footsteps behind him, but he didn't slow his pace.

"Kill"

That voice… Sora changed his direction, running straight towards the source. Arriving in a small alleyway, he found a boy around his age but with shaggy black hair and a brown kimono, with mamushi snakes closing in. "You there! Please! Help me!" the boy yelled at Sora.

"Why should I?"

"Please! I'll give you anything if you'll just save me from these snakes!"

"Hold," Sora hissed at the mamushi, and turned back to the boy. "You say you will give me anything I want?"

"Yes! Anything!"

"Do you intend to keep your promise?"

"Please save me!"

"Answer the question."

"Yes! I will keep my promise. I will give you anything you want!"

Sora still felt dubious, but voices started echoing in his mind. Shakarri's words 'You might find some good skins to wear,' and Rin's 'Just start chatting and let things flow,' kept reverberating.

"This whelp poses no threat to you and will serve no purpose. Desist from eating him, and let him pass," ordered Sora. The snakes turned to look at him.

"Our brood-"

"... will gain no benefit from the weakling you have cornered. He is, however, of use to me. Let him pass."

"What if he isn't? Then we starve for little reason."

"If he does indeed turn out to be useless, I will return to feed him to you. But I will be the judge of that. He's mine."

The snakes started slithering away from the terrified boy, towards Sora, and along the streets. The child slowly inched forward, seemingly afraid that there may be more snakes in the area, and once he was close to Sora, he ran up and threw his arms around him, sobbing "Thank you, thank you!"

"What - are you doing?" Sora asked, bewildered. The last time that he could remember someone grabbing him was when he first met the lamia Shakarri, and she only did that to bite into him and suck his blood. This type of boy didn't seem like he had the will, the appetite, the physical ability or the required teeth to do any of that.

"You just saved me! You can't expect me not to show my gratitude to you after that!"

"Really?"

"Yes."

"So you will listen to my demand then?"

"Y-yeah." The boy started backing away as soon as Sora mentioned this.

"Fine. I want you to become my friend."

"T-that's it?"

"I haven't had any humans I could truly call 'friends', and it has proven to be difficult finding people who are _reliable_."

"Gladly! I'm Ishida Koichi. What is your name?"

"Sugiyama Sora. I do have one other thing to ask, Koichi-san: do not mention what happened here regarding the snakes to anyone."

"Understood. Say, are you by any chance related to Sugiyama Rin or her older sister Misaki?"

"I wish I wasn't. And that is another secret I will need you to keep."

"Strange. Why so many secrets?"

"Friends can be trusted with each other's secrets, _can't they_?"

"O-okay. Where are you headed?"

"Back to that cafe with the inefficient portrait. Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure."

The rest of the trip back to Mahou no Mon passed by in a haze, with the only obstruction being the portrait of Mon-chan again warning them to stay away from the Kobashigawa Reliquary and the surrounding area as the situation there was still problematic, especially with one Sugiyama Rin trying to capture the culprit herself. This reminded Sora of something, and immediately he asked what exactly a 'Dishonorable' was

"Nya, someone who has broken our code, of course," Mon-chan squealed. "Such people who practise forbidden magic and forever stain their honor: the people who wear White Robes!"

"If your Mahoutokoro robes turn white," warned Ishida, "...you will have been marked a Dishonorable, and you will be immediately imprisoned and tried at the Ministry."

"When will they turn white?" inquired Sora.

"The instant you cast any forbidden magic."

"Like what?"

"The most grievous examples are known as the Unforgivable Curses. I don't know much more than the name, though, but it's probably better that way."

"What are you three talking about?" someone called from the entrance to the Maid Cafe… Yuzu.

"Nothing, we were just asking Mon-chan for clarity on a few things."

"Ah, are you a friend of Sora-sama?"

"Hai. We just met, but we're friends."

"You two want a seat?"

"Please."

Once inside and seated, Yuzu left to prepare some food, while remarking that Ishida looked like he was also due for the Ritual. Again, Sora asked about the ritual, but all Ishida knew was that it was where the Clans recruit new members from the day school students, and that he was being considered for the Unyielding Soil Clan, a fourth clan. When hearing that the Sugiyama brother didn't even know what the day school was, much less not even been there, he could barely say anything.

From what Ishida told Sora, the first acceptance letter from Mahoutokoro should have come much sooner, at the age of seven: from that age, young wizards all over Japan were taken to and from the school on giant storm petrels to learn basic magic. The Ritual marked the point where students officially boarded, as well as the point where the Clans, who monitor each of the 'young masters' towards the end of the day school period, make a final decision on who to initiate into their ranks.

Sora's fists were clenching tightly as Ishida revealed this information, to the point that his uncut nails began digging into the flesh of his palms. This victory over Misaki and Rin's attempt to keep him away from Mahoutokoro was hollow; they had already succeeded in their endeavour without him ever even realising it. They both had to suffer for this, for keeping this world from him! Even Rin's Crucio spell would not bring them the pain Sora so desired to have them feel at this revelation, but it rather needed to be something that lasted…

"Sora-sama, are you okay? You're bleeding," Yuzu's voice intruded.

"It's nothing," he hissed, looking into where his nails drew blood on his palms, and hastily trying to conceal the evidence.

"Are you sure?"

"I already told you, it's nothing. Leave it!"

"Clearly it isn't! Let me see your hands!"

"You need some help there, Yuzu-chan?" Now Rin had intruded further, running towards the three from the Kagamisekai Ward entrance.

"Yes. Sora-sama is hurt, and he won't let me help!"

"Hurt?" Now she was right in front of Sora, jerking his hands apart and gazing on the nail cuts in his palms. "What exactly happened?"

"I don't know. He was just talking to his friend about the Mahoutokoro day school, and I noticed he was bleeding."

"Damn it. We thought he was non-magical! He wouldn't have fared well there!"

"Sugiyama-san," cut in Ishida, "...they are much more proficient at telling whether somebody is a true non-wizard as opposed to a late bloomer. Did you not at least consider sending him for an evaluation?

"Misa-chan thought it was a foregone conclusion, and she's one of the best witches in the country. If neither of us could see any magic in him when he was younger, I don't think any of the senseis would have seen any either." Rin's eyes started filling with tears.

"All the same, please apologise to Sora-san for your deception. You owe him that much."

"I know, kid, I know-"

"Do you really think that will be enough?" Sora spat.

"Look, everything was Misa-chan's idea! I thought it was the better course of action at the time! I'm sorry, Sora-kun. "

"Are you really? Prove it then!"

"Look, I want to make things right! I'm truly sorry about everything! What more do you want from me!?"

Just as Sora was about to yell back, the words of the lamia re-surfaced; _it's called espionage_. "There is one thing I desperately want, Rin-nee-san. If we can do that, I will forgive you."

"Okay, w-what?"

"I want you to teach me your advanced spells, the ones that you and Misaki-nee-chan use. I also want to learn that Speed Magic that was used."

"Okay, but that's going to be a long-term goal. You're still nowhere near the level where you can manage the spells, and it wouldn't be any different if you _had_ gone to the day school. Speed magic especially, most witches and wizards even at my level can't handle it."

"What about the Ninjutsu you showed me earlier today?"

"Again, that's a whole different game to normal magic. We don't even know what element you are attuned to, and until we figure that out, we can't do anything. Unless something drastic happens, the attunement only starts at second-year level. The most I can do is explain theory, and that gets really boring really fast."

"But you will help me learn these things?"

"Yes, Sora-kun, I will."

"Very well, I will overlook what you and Misaki-nee-chan did. Where do we start?"

"I suppose we could try the Kuro no Hikari dojo; they do have people who use Speed Magic reliably. I need some rest, though: the Ōban were really... adamant about not interfering with their work in capturing the Reliquary criminal. For future reference, Sora-kun, they are our security forces, specifically trained to deal with dangerous Dishonorables."

"That reminds me, what happened with your pursuit?"

"From what I could hear, some woman was plundering the Reliquary single-handedly, and had taken hostages. I couldn't get a good look before the Ōban got in the way. Although, why did you split off?"

"He heard my scream for help," Ishida interjected. "I was cornered by… a particularly… horrible classmate, and Sora-san saved me."

"Wow, I didn't know his Knockback Jinx was _that_ powerful."

"Rin-sama, Sora-sama, Ishida-sama, here is some food," spoke Yuzu, with a tray laden with dishes.

"Perfect. For now, everyone, let's eat!


	8. Chapter 8: A Brightening Sky

Chapter 8: A Brightening Sky

For the next two days, Sora, Rin and Ishida frequented the Kuro no Hikari dojo, having taken a few pamphlets and spent most of the time watching the members engage in Kendo battles. The use of Speed Magic didn't occur very often, but when it happened, all Sora saw was that, with the tiny sonic boom that was created, the user disappeared and reappeared much closer to his opponent, who in turn also had to use Speed Magic to parry the strike. Although the field research wasn't yielding much fruit, Sora felt that the sport looked interesting: there was something about facing somebody in direct combat and striking the finishing blow before they could react that felt so… exciting.

Rin, for her part, had approached some of the trainers at the dojo to enquire further about how one uses Speed Magic, portraying herself as a high-level Ninjutsu user looking to get some advice from the experts, and Ishida looked for books discussing the subject in various parts of Kagamisekai. Sora, meanwhile, kept his eyes on the people practising in the dojo, trying to track their movements when they utilised Speed Magic. Before, the most he was able to see was users edging forward as they activated it, but near the end of the second day, he thought he could see them edge even further forward and slightly lift their foot as they sped up. Sadly, although this was an improvement, it felt underwhelming: he should have been able to take in more than this!

Rin and Ishida's efforts didn't turn up that much successful either. The results of Rin's queries focused on aspects that focused too heavily on the use of Ninjutsu, which Sora had no training in and wouldn't have until his second boarding year, and thus couldn't be used. The texts that Ishida perused weren't much help either, but they did mention two key factors: the body must be trained over a long period of time, and the user has to have a good grasp of both nonverbal and wandless magic.

When the third day came, Sora woke up much earlier than usual. This day, he would be able to meet with the lamia Shakarri again, so he ran straight through to Mon-chan and asked for the way to be open, but as she revealed the path, she gave a warning to be on guard: the Ōban were still patrolling to find the robber, and all visitors were to stay away from the area surrounding the entrance to the Kuchisake-Onna district.

Once through, he started running: if what he heard during the period of research into Speed Magics was true, he would have to train his body, so what better way than increasing his own speed and trying to gradually push it up that way? The sky was fairly dark, but with a low crimson tint reflecting off some of the clouds. None of the various shops of the district were open for business, and the streets were practically deserted. It was probably for the best that he chose that moment to depart from the maid cafe: it would make less people worry about him, and he should hopefully be back before anyone got suspicious. Rin had to return to her home for the night, and Ishida was still sound asleep.

Finally coming to the familiar alleyway near the Kuro no Hikari dojo, Sora dashed inwards and waited. There still wasn't anybody else on the streets, even as the sky started to turn blue. All he could hear was the wind whistling over the gap between the rooftops.

"Huh, didn't expect you here this early," a familiar voice sounded from within the alleyway.

"Shakarri-nee-chan, is that you?" Sora responded.

"I see you've been looking forward to today."

"More than anything."

"Perfect. I've got what I needed. Take this." An arm extended from the shadows holding a rectangular object wrapped in garbage-bag plastic.

"What is this?"

"Open it. I've heard that it is a human custom to wrap gifts up before giving them to the recipient. I've never much cared for such formality, but just this once I thought I could make an exception. Consider it a… what is the term you humans use… 'birthday present' from me."

Sora quickly took the package and tore away at the plastic, revealing… a mirror? "What is this?"

"Speak my name into it."

"Okay… Shakarri-nee-chan."

Sora's reflection in the mirror quickly faded to a black scene, with two piercing yellow eyes discernable. Right then, he thought he heard slithering on the walls, and the black mirror image changed to show Shakarri's green hair, purple eye-tattoos and her fangs against the navy-blue sky.

"Shakarri-nee-chan, is that really you?"

"Yes," hissed his mirror. "This is a two-way mirror. I've got the matching one with me. With this, we can communicate despite not being in the same area. All you need to do is speak my name into the mirror, and we will be able to communicate."

"So we can talk even at Mahoutokoro?"

Something crashed into the ground behind Sora, causing him to leap forward, albeit still holding on to his mirror. "Essentially yes," the lamia's voice echoed from the crash site. "Whatever you do, don't lose it. I had to hold the whole Kobayashi Reliquary hostage to get that for you, so the last thing I need is for you to get careless with it."

"You… risked yourself with a robbery… for me?"

"Very observant. If nothing else, the event itself was exciting."

"But won't they find out?"

"No. When I carried out the heist, I also took much of their other merchandise as well as all their jade stores. So many of the artifacts at the Reliquary have high value, and with taking those, I'm able to divert attention from my true goal of the mirrors."

"What about if they try to retrieve the items?"

"That's why I got myself passage to the Kuchisake-Onna district: the Ōban isn't well liked there, which provides a buffer against pursuit. Additionally, once you get there, it's very easy to pawn the goods off to someone in the Black Market who doesn't ask questions. Then, when the Ōban find out just about everything was sold on said Black Market, they'll think that was the case for all the stolen items, and thus will forget about one or two missing pieces. Everyone thinks the main objective of the heist was to make a mountain of cash, the trail goes cold, then you can sit back and relax."

"Wow, amazing."

"I am curious, however: did you manage to learn any other spells during these last few days?"

"Rin-nee-chan only taught me a spell that knocks people down. I tried to use it when we came under attack, but I was humiliated; my wand left me!"

"Sounds like the Disarming Charm. You still need training before you can fight, and that will only come at Mahoutokoro. In the meanwhile, there is one other spell I can teach you."

"Is it the Avada Kedavra Curse?"

"No, actually. You still need a lot more training before you can manage something of that level. Besides, we have to take proper precautions. Do you know of how they identify lawbreakers?"

"A new friend told me; the robes turn white."

"Indeed. If you fired off a Killing Curse, it will instantly trigger that enchantment, and you will face expulsion and trial at the Ministry of Magic. I think there is a way to negate it though."

"How?"

"I don't know. However, your brood sisters have knowledge of this, although they will likely not yield it to you willingly. From that brief glimpse I got of them at your old home, they've had years of practice with curses that should have triggered their robes to turn white. Despite that, it doesn't seem like either of them were caught. Once you have figured out how to circumvent that enchantment, then you can learn the Killing Curse."

"So what is the spell you're going to teach me?"

"The Severing Charm. It can cut the target up with good precision. Usually, it is only used for minor things like creating clothes or the like, but it has been known to accidentally cause injury, and if misused, can even be lethal. Of course, when they say 'accident', I prefer to think of it as repurposing. Just imagine: the man who robbed you of your wand, if you so wished and could master the spell, could be robbed of his own hands at your whim!"

"Really?"

"That last part is just theoretical, but some 'misuses' of the spell have left cuts on people. If something can damage even slightly, it _can_ become a weapon if you refine it enough."

"Finally, something useful!"

"Good to see you're enthusiastic about this. First, we will need to find something that will make a good target. Hmmm… that bin over there. Look," Shakarri ordered, pointing to the opposite alleyway.

"Yes?"

"Wand out, point it at the bin, and then follow this movement. Then 'Diffindo'." Her hand shot downward, then up, then down for a bit before levelling out.

" _Diffindo_." Sora repeated. A small dent appeared in the bin.

"Not bad. Try again."

" _Diffindo_. Still no good."

"You're getting there; metal is a tough thing to start with, especially for a beginner, so don't expect it to cut right away. See, the cut on the bin is widening."

" _Diffindo_."

"You really seem to be getting the hang of the spell."

"But I haven't cut the bin open yet! _Diffindo_."

"Honestly, I don't expect you to. As I said, metal is tough to cut. But you know how to operate the spell, and for now that is enough."

"This doesn't seem like a good defensive spell though. I don't see it doing what you promised."

"Maybe not _now_ , and admittedly it is fairly weak on its own, but again, if you can refine it... Besides, I think it still can be used defensively, you just need a bit of... " She lowered herself to Sora's level and ran her teeth along the skin of his ear "... precision."

"What do you mean?"

"Give it some time and some thought. I think you know what I mean on an instinctive level. Speaking of instinct, you seem fairly comfortable navigating this area."

"Rin-nee-chan and another friend, Ishida Koichi-kun, have been trying to help me learn Speed Magic. I've been trying to watch it as it happens, but I'm making no progress."

"This Koichi boy, he's a new acquaintance?"

"Yes. I rescued him, and we are now friends. He's given me quite a lot of information on Mahoutokoro."

"Now you're thinking; you've now got a good skin on yourself. Given the time today, I assume you left when you did because they weren't aware?"

"Rin-nee-chan's gone home, and I didn't want to wake Koichi-kun. I was worried you would disapprove."

"Leave that assessment up to me, although it is probably a good thing you didn't bring him. I'm willing to bet he doesn't speak our language, and you already know how I feel about those types of people. There's also another issue that, the more people let in on our little secrets, the greater the risk of exposure for the both of us. Although…" the lamia paused, looking up at the light shade of blue that the sky had become, "...if that is the case, you probably want to get back to the inn soon. If the people there wake up and see that you're missing, it will arouse suspicion."

"So… we can't stay longer?"

"I'm afraid not, and this will probably be the last time we see each other in person in the short term. The Ōban are going to expand their search of the districts, so I will need to disappear for a while. If you want to contact me, use the two-way mirror, and do so only when you are alone and there's no chance of being interrupted or overheard."

"I thought you said the Ōban wouldn't be able to find you due to your detour into the Kuchisake-Onna district."

"That doesn't mean it isn't necessary to take precautions. They will probably try to blanket Kagamisekai with patrols for a short while until either they find something or enough time passes for them to deduce that the area is secure. To be on the safe side, it will probably be better if you don't use the mirror, at least for the first two weeks or until you get to Mahoutokoro."

"How long will that take?"

"Until you go to the school? What time did your letter say term starts?"

"It said 'First of April', but I don't get what that really means at all."

"From what I can tell of the human calendars, it is the fourth month of the year. We are about halfway through the second month at present, which gives you probably… fifty days. Maybe get that friend of yours to instruct you on the human calendar, he'll know more about it than I. Now, I really must get going. Sayounara, Sora-kun"

"Bye-bye, Shakarri-nee-chan," Sora whispered as the lamia shot back into the shadows. Rays of sunlight were starting to burst from the horizon, and people would probably start waking up soon, so he had to hurry back to the maid cafe. Pocketing his wand and the mirror, he started running back.

By the time he returned, there were about three patrons in the cafe. He walked the rest of the way to his room, crept back into his futon, and closed his eyes, waiting for sleep to wash over him once more. The early morning start combined with his running had left him tired, but he was content with the meeting.

The only thing that disrupted the day was Rin banging on his door, saying that he failed to meet her for breakfast and asking if he was alright. Maybe he did get a bit of extra sleep in, but for the moment, the three of them would continue trying to decipher the mystery of Speed Magic. Additionally, over the next six weeks, he interrogated Rin about the calendar and how to tell dates apart, as well as the meaning of the word 'birthday'. At least, throughout the time spent, the Mahoutokoro School of Magic was within his reach after years of being robbed of the experience...


	9. Chapter 9: Setting Sail

Chapter 9: Setting Sail

By the end of March, Rin and Ishida had taught Sora about a number of things that he didn't know due to not attending the day school of Mahoutokoro: the two most important things being how to write with a calligraphy brush, and how to prepare and store the ink he would use in his writing. Other developments included Rin venturing outside the other end of the maid cafe into the Akihabara Prefecture and bringing him a large trunk, supposedly for all his school supplies, Ishida teaching Sora all about non-magical dressing customs (although he still preferred green kimonos), Yuzu providing some hints to him on how to act at Mahoutokoro, and finally, Sora, through the fifty days, had at last gained the ability to follow Speed Magic users with his own eyes, albeit only for one second.

All too soon, the date of the first of April came, and Rin arrived bright and early with a large, red trunk. All too quickly, Sora had to pack his own trunk, pressing in his clothes, cauldron, two-way mirror, books, washi scrolls, inkstones and the like. The result was one uncomfortably heavy box that, at least, he could wheel along the ground. Out in the main area of the maid cafe near the fireplace, Ishida and Yuzu (now out of her maid uniform) also trailed trunks with them.

"You're travelling by Floo Powder, Sora-san?" Ishida asked.

"I think so, Koichi-kun. What about you?"

"My father's driving me there. Akihabara isn't too far away from the Port of Tokyo, so I should be able to get there in time."

"Fire's ready, Sora-kun!" Rin called, the fireplace now hosting a bright emerald-green fire. "It was nice meeting you, Ishida-kun. Best of luck with the Ritual."

Just then, there was a hooting sound from the Heimin entrance to the Mahou no Mon maid cafe, and Ishida ran to meet it, disappearing from Sora's sight. Rin stepped into the green flames, followed by Sora, after which she immediately yelled "Harumifuto Park!"

Again, Sora found himself tumbling through a void with Rin, seeing countless other places until slowing down and being ushered out by his sister, stepping into a… an open grassland?

"Misa-chan's bewitched this to keep the Heimin from noticing when people pop out," Rin explained, before looking over at a familiar white-haired woman in an electric blue suit. "Ah, speaking of which… Hiii, Misa-chaaan!"

"Rin, keep it down," Misaki yelled, running over to the two of them. "You should know better than to draw attention to this place!"

"Oops."

"Sora."

"Good morning, Misaki-nee-chan," Sora responded, monotone. He couldn't let his true opinion of her come out here.

"We're walking to the terminal from here."

"Understood."

"Huh… looks like you've managed to get a sense of respect after all. I'll leave the rest up to the staff at Mahoutokoro."

The walk was long, and Sora's eyes never left his oldest sister. They walked along a large stretch of park before coming to a road, walking further down before arriving at a large building. Upon entering the building, the three of them immediately made for the Passport Control Area on the second floor, finally stopping in front of a door that read 'The Storm Petrel' in the waiting area.

"Those Heimin out there can't see this door. This goes to the boat that takes us to Mahou no Shima." Rin whispered in Sora's ear.

Opening the door, Misaki ushered them into a small room with someone in a black kimono. To their immediate right after entry stood an elevator with the sign 'Minami Iwo Jima'. Rin and Sora dragged their trunks inside, after which the door closed.

"Bye, Misa-chan!"

"Have a good term, Rin. Make sure to keep Sora in line; I don't want to have to receive an angry letter from Mahoutokoro."

The lift closed, started descending, and opened up again to reveal a passageway and a large, golden-brown ship outside the windows on the left side wall. Further down, the passage seemed to twist into the ship itself, and Rin continued dragging Sora along. Finally, they passed a point where the floor seemed hollow, and she informed him that they were now inside the cruise ship.

"A few things you'll want to keep in mind," Rin started, "Mahoutokoro students are only permitted to stay on the upper decks of the ship. It is kinda small, but you get a good sea view from the windows in each room. Otherwise, there are bathrooms further inside, and there's also a place you can have food elsewhere on the ship. Meanwhile… looks like we got here early. There's an empty room right here."

"What about the storm petrels?" Sora asked, as she muscled him to the room on his immediate left. It was indeed empty, but the window merely showed what must have been the port.

"The giant ones? They are specifically trained to only lift one student each to the school, and at that age you're only going back and forth every single day. Besides, it's tough to hold on to a storm petrel AND a heavy case of luggage at the same time, and it kinda alerts the populace when massive suitcases, cauldrons and spellbooks fall out of the sky. So if you are taking anything with you that cannot be stored in your robes, you're taking the ship."

"How long will it take to get to the Mahou no Shima?"

"We'll be arriving at around the evening. It's far out of the way, so it will take time. Meanwhile… Ah, Ishida-kun! Over here!"

As Ishida came into view, Rin stated that she was going to look for and sit with Yuzu. It was still a while before the time to leave… 11:00… arrived. In the meantime, Sora closed the entrance to the room before extracting one of his Mahoutokoro kimonos and disrobing. Ten minutes passed, and he was now in the salmon-pink robes he had bought from the store in Kagamisekai.

"Where did you get those, Sora-san?"

"A place in Kagamisekai, Koichi-kun. I think it was called 'The Spring Obi'. Why?"

"Usually you get the Mahoutokoro robes when you arrive at the school. I don't think they trust third parties with them."

"But it said I needed these robes in the letter!"

"Okay. Something fishy's going on then. There would have been no need to specify a request to get your own robes. Just be on guard."

"You think these robes are a trap? But who would - Misaki-nee-chan never wanted me to go to Mahoutokoro, and Rin-nee-chan was the one who took me to the maid cafe."

"I don't know, Sora-san. But there is definitely something off," warned Ishida, as he finished donning his own kimono, which weirdly enough, was more of a golden color.

"What robes are those?"

"These? They're my Mahoutokoro robes. They automatically change color depending on various circumstances. The white transformation you already know. Beginners get that pink color you have, but if you do well in your studies, your robes turn to my gold color."

From there, Sora started pressing Ishida for more information, leading them to talk about the Clans and the Ritual. It turned out that there were eight Clans in total. Four of them he already heard: the Steeled Soul Clan which Misaki was a part of, the Roaring Flame Clan which had Rin, the Reverent Sky Clan that Yuzu was part of, and the Unyielding Soil that Ishida was hoping to join. The remaining four were the Flowing River Clan, the Unblemished Spirit Clan, the Bloody Oath Clan and the Gentle Wind Clan, and each clan was in a state of constant rivalry with the others.

Just then, they heard a clunk from behind the room, and the ferry started to inch forward. Were they finally setting sail? Looking out the window, Sora saw that the architecture of the Harumi terminal was inching slowly backwards. For the longest time, he stayed transfixed as the cityscape of Tokyo retreated further and further, getting smaller by the minute.

"Is it just me… or is the ship speeding up?" asked Ishida. Looking at the sea, Sora thought he may have been onto something; unlike when they were still in port, he could barely make out the ripples in the sea anymore. It also felt somewhat harder to take a step forward, and conversely felt easier to fall backwards.

"Ishid- Koichi-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"If we are in different clans, can we still be friends?"

"I don't see why we can't, Sora-san. Why do you ask all of a sudden?"

"I can't explain it, but… but I feel… something. I think something… is wrong with me."

"Seasick?"

"Cannot be. I don't know what's happening to me, but lately I've been feeling… scared. Feeling as if… if you disappear… I will be alone. I don't know why. I've been fine being alone before, I've even looked forward to those moments when Misaki-nee-chan and Rin-nee-chan left the house and gave me peace. I was even fine being alone during the first couple of days at Mahou no Mon. Yet for some stupid reason… I am feeling weakness at the thought of being on my own at Mahoutokoro, especially since you and everyone else know much more about the place than I do! It's absolutely disgraceful! I shouldn't be feeling this!"

"How… how long have you been feeling like this, Sora-san?"

"Ever since you first told me of the boarding school side of Mahoutokoro and the fact that the Clans exist. I had to say farewell to Sha- another friend, but now I wish I could have kept her closer to me, found a way to stay with her. I don't get it at all! I hated being in proximity to people yet now I'm scared _not_ to be in such proximity. _What is wrong with me?!_ " Sora's fortitude had failed him: his feelings, the pathetic signs of weakness that he was expected never to let show, were breaking apart the pillars of his soul that kept him strong, and his eyes further betrayed him when they started expelling those feelings en masse down his cheeks. Those feelings, the fear of losing someone close that he'd tried to bury ever since the lamia Shakarri told him they couldn't see each other in person for a while, the very things he had been forcing down for a whole month and a half, were now shamefully leaving his body for the world to see.

"Sora-san..."

"Don't look at me! I'm weak!"

"You aren't!" In that instant, Ishida had thrown himself onto Sora, much like how he did so when they first met.

"I am. If it weren't for the snakes about to attack you when I arrived, we wouldn't have been friends."

"Don't say that, Sora-san!"

"It's true. If I hadn't forced you into becoming friends with me before I shooed the snakes away, you would have just left me!"

"Don't think about that. One way or another, you were bound to make friends with someone anyway. Besides, demand or no, you helped me when few would have even bothered, and it's really rare to find someone like that. If you called the snakes off without voicing any demands, I would have probably asked you if we could be friends."

"Even so, I shouldn't be showing weakness like this!"

"It isn't weakness! Don't beat yourself up over your feelings! Having feelings isn't a sign of weakness at all; all it proves is that you are human, and a good person to be around!"

"Really?"

"Yes. What in the world did your family do to you to make you think emotions are bad?"

"I- I don't want to talk about it. At least not right now."

"Okay."

"Will we be in the same Clan though? I'm just worried we won't be able to meet again."

"We might be in separate Clans, but that doesn't mean we won't get to see each other. We should have some classes together! Besides, there are times when we will be able to meet outside of class. I'm sure!"

"O-okay."

"Come on. Let's have a meal on it. We've still got a ways to go before we actually get to the school, even at our speed."

The meal, in what appeared to be a dining area of sorts, with small wooden round tables dotting every part of the room. Most of them had people sitting in the nearby chairs, but Sora and Koichi managed to find a table in a secluded corner. From the sounds of things, the people went up to one of several counters to place an order, paid with the coins that Koichi called Jade Ryō, and when the preparation of the food was finished (placed on a tray if need be) it was taken back to whichever tables they wanted to sit at. Koichi left the table, returning sometime later with two trays of assorted foods and almost overbalancing.

The foods that he brought included things like sushi, takoyaki, sashimi, sukiyaki, soba and yakitori, which Koichi said were sold in Heimin Japan. Also included were imported wizarding items like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Pasties, in addition to some local wizarding food, including the favored Rāmen o bakuhatsu, a version of Tokyo-style ramen which apparently had a large number of flavours magically compressed in the batter of the noodles and let to an explosion of taste as people chewed into them. Another favored local dish was Yōyū pokkī, a version of the non-wizarding snack pocky where the chocolate melted when inside the mouth.

All Sora really cared about at that point was seeing what was good enough to eat (and making sure the takoyaki was consumed within the next 30 seconds), and trying to find out as much about Mahoutokoro as possible. Sadly, only with one exception, the day school students are usually sequestrated in the lower levels of the Palace, and if Koichi's stories were to be believed, the exception came near the end of the day school period, when the students toured the most important areas of the higher levels. Koichi was even of the opinion that most of the students would only get used to the areas when using them during the boarding period, so Sora would be able to catch up quickly and easily.

One thing Koichi was still very apprehensive about was Sora's robes. Despite the surprise at Sora not being in the day school, apparently his situation wasn't unheard of, so they would have appropriate-sized robes ready for such cases. Additionally, it would usually spark a lot of suspicion if somebody who hasn't been to Mahoutokoro showed up with robes. All Sora thought was that he was heavily inflating an issue… until he mentioned specifically the part about arousing suspicion. One of the main things that Shakarri the lamia taught him was never to draw attention to yourself (at least not unnecessarily), so in the end, as the afternoon grew late, he agreed to go back to his room and change back into his green kimono.

Afterwards, he couldn't help but look out the window of his room, down at the white expanse flowing onto the blue blur of a sea from the side of the ship. This speed… it felt like what he had to strive for if he wanted to master Speed Magic. Just like what he did at the dojo, he had to actually see the finer details of that speed. He had to focus. The white sheet of foam slowly… ever so slowly… became more detailed, with Sora seeing exactly where the ripples were and how they were moving away from the hull. Just like how the people at the dojo made their move to strike with such speed, such serpentine precision, he had to strive for that. That was the result he had to achieve.

"Sora-san… are we slowing down?"

"What?!" Sora turned to face Koichi, feeling a slight drag towards the wall behind him. Falling into the seat, he turned to look at the ocean again. The ripples being made were only slightly less distinguishable, and the distance between the end point and the hull was getting shorter and shorter. The sun, nearing the horizon, was casting light on some cloud cover in the distance to create a golden sky

"I think we are… we must be getting close…"

"So, we're nearly there? Can you just tell me what I need to do or keep in mind?"

"Just tell them the truth. Tell them that you were not at the day school before being admitted. You should be supplied with robes somewhere down the line. Also, just follow the sensei's lead, and you shouldn't have a problem."

Just as Koichi finished, a large green island came into view, and it seemed to be drawing slowly closer. "I take it that's the island."

"Yes. Mahou no Shima, known to the rest of the world as Minami Iwo Jima. As far as I understand it, we call it the Mahou no Shima to avoid exposing our location."

"What about the main school itself? Where s it?"

"At the very top of the mountain. Now, I've really wanted to see how the ship gets up there, so can we take a look out this window?"

Sora nodded, just as the island edged back out of sight to face the bow of the ship. A few more minutes passed before they saw the island again, this time much larger as they got closer. They continued watching as the ship entered what appeared to be a tunnel. It took a longer while yet before they entered a large vertical shaft, lit with glowing violet crystals. The water began rippling intensely.

"That must be the Chi jutsu: Ishi no Kabe." mused Koichi, as silhouetted figures in black robes dropped down onto the water's surface and stood there, as if standing on the water itself. "The Wall of Stone technique blocks off the tunnel we came in through before the next jutsu."

"What? What jutsu?" Sora asked, just as large waterfalls began pouring out of the sleeves of the figures into the waters in the shaft.

"Uh. that one. I think that one is the Sui jutsu: Ageshio. The Rising Tide fills this upward cavern, raising us to the Palace dock."

Sora, continuing to look outside, could see that the rock formations were sinking into the massive pool of water, including the crystals providing light. It took almost fifteen minutes, rising until the sky was once more visible, before the ship started moving again, only going past one red pole that Koichi claimed was part of a large Torii gate, before stopping again. Figures darted across the plains to which the pole was attached, whereupon the water began rapidly draining, causing the ship to lower until a point where Sora and Koichi's height were level with the new ground. Finally, wood started flying out from out of nowhere, crashing into each other until a red bridge formed, connecting to the ship's hull.

"Attention," an unfamiliar voice rang through the halls, "...for those of you just arriving here, you are to leave your luggage cases behind. They will be taken to your quarters automatically."

"What!?" Sora yelled. "I'm not leaving anything behind!"

"Sora-san, just do what they say," Koichi pleaded. "Our possessions are in good hands!"

"I don't want to leave anything to chance. I am taking my belongings with me!"

"Please, we don't want any trouble. Let's just leave. We're closest to the exit."

"Okay… okay… no trouble… fine, we will see if these 'safe hands' of yours can be trusted."

Clad in his green robes with his wand, Sora followed Koichi out of their room, to the now open door onto the bridge, and finally into the world he had been denied for so long.


	10. Chapter 10: The Ritual

Chapter 10: The Ritual

Sora and Koichi were the first to step out onto the grass. Awaiting them was a woman with completely white skin and long-flowing white hair akin to that of the Sugiyama family, in a light blue kimono. "First year boarders, I presume?"

"Hai, Miyuki-sensei," Koichi replied.

"Ah, good. Who's your friend?"

"You first!" hissed Sora, plunging his hand into his kimono for his wand.

"Sora-san, wai-"

"Ah-ha ha ha ha ha, how cute," giggled the woman. "Ara, come to think of it, I don't recognise you at all. Okashīdesu ne."

"Who are you, woman!?"

"Calm down," she cooed, yet the air around Sora became colder and colder. "...you'll find out soon enough once the new boarders have all gathered."

"What are you-"

"Miyuki-sensei is a Yuki-onna!" interjected Koichi. "You don't want to make her mad; by her very nature, she can create localised blizzards. Miyuki-sensei, Sora-san is just not used to this; it's his very first time here, and he's really slow to trust! Please don't freeze him!"

"Don't worry, Ishida-kun," continued the woman, with another slight giggle. "I was just helping him cool his head. So we have a rarity here, eh? Welcome to Mahoutokoro, in that case. Ah, that reminds me. _New boarders, kotchi kotchi!_ " she now yelled, waving her hand in the air.

As more people gathered, Sora couldn't help but think the response from this Yuki-onna was somewhat underwhelming. From what Koichi said, he expected there to be a much bigger outcry, and her response to the new arrival seemed like she was too… used to it. That, and the way she was able to freeze the very air around him, left a rather bad taste in his mouth. The grip on his wand didn't relax; if this first sensei was anything to go by, Sora would have to be on guard. Other people in similar pink or gold robes took a different route, while yet more gathered around Sora and Koichi.

"Looks like that's everyone. This way," the Yuki-onna finally declared, walking up the hill, weirdly enough, on the same footpath as the rest of the boarders. Looking at the various shrine gates placed along that path, Sora saw that they led up to some sort of large structure… a castle maybe? A tower? Maybe a Temple? Whatever the case, it seemed to be taking a lot of energy for him to keep up with the Yuki-onna, but the object was getting closer and closer: it looked like it was indeed a castle, a shiro to be more precise, made of some thick green material. Closer, and closer they came, finally reaching a set of gigantic, ornate red doors… which started inching forward to reveal an opening, as well as bright orange light.

"To all, welcome once again to Mahoutokoro," declared the Yuki-onna. "As you will undoubtedly know, you will pass through these doors to your new life as part of one of the Eight Clans. For now, follow me."

Sora and Koichi continued to stay in front of the line as she led them into one very large room. Once she determined that all of them had entered, the door to that room shut behind them, and she drew and pointed her wand at a nearby crank, whereupon the floor started rising. "We will be approaching the Ritual Chamber, so while we wait, I will tell you what you need to know about the Ritual.

"Throughout your four years as a day student at Mahoutokoro, the Clans have kept an ever constant watch on your progress. As you know, your performance… not only academically… will determine which Clan becomes yours, but this night is where all your triumphs, all your trials, all your tribulations will be taken into consideration, to see how you honour the sacred code of Bushido. Eight Clans, each representing one virtue of the Code, will assess every moment of your time here to see which of these virtues you most exemplify: Righteousness, Courage, Benevolence, Respect, Sincerity, Honour, Loyalty or Self-Control. In that order, the Steeled Soul, the Roaring Flame, the Gentle Wind, the Reverent Sky, the Flowing Water, the Bloody Oath, the Unyielding Soil or the Unblemished Spirit.

"You may have received commendations from any of the various Clan leaders, but know that as of tonight, they may all be for nothing. It is this night that determines whom you fight alongside, and in an instant, you may find yourself in a different Clan than you expected to be, and afterwards, the decision is final. As for the Ritual itself, when we arrive at the Chamber, you will be individually called forth to step inside, alone, where you will face all eight Clan Leaders, along with their Officers, as well as our Headmistress Yukimura Hotaru-sama. Your history will be considered, your marks evaluated, and once a decision is made on who to take you in, you will be shown the way forward, where you are to remain until all Rituals have been completed."

Just then, the floor came to a stop in front of another door, and the Yuki-onna walked through it before returning with a sheet of washi. "First for the Ritual… Ajibana Hinata."

One of the people behind Sora walked forward and got ushered through the door by the Yuki-onna, her closing it once she was inside. It took a bit of time before the next names were called, such as Arakida Shinji, Choshi Misato, Furusawa Akemi, Hachirobei Jirou, Higashiyama Ichirou, and it was starting to bore Sora. Eventually, it came to "Ishida Koichi", whereupon he too disappeared behind the door, and it was there that pangs of panic began to resurface. After that came more names that Sora didn't really care to know, including Kajahara Haruna, Miyake Hayate, Nakata Kaori, Okamoto Keiko, Raikatuji Nobuyuki.

Finally, "Sugiyama Sora" was called by the Yuki-onna, and Sora, like those before him, stepped through the doors, heard them close behind him, and came face to face with the large council of the Ritual.

"Interesting?" a voice chirped among them… a woman in blue robes, with turquoise hair. "Haven't seen you anywhere before, Sugiyama-kun."

"I was never admitted to the school." Sora responded. "Who are you anyway?"

"Me? You can call me Inoue-sensei. Are you sure you haven't been here before?"

"That can be easily explained," another voice, this one belonging to a black-haired and grizzled-looking man with a thin but long moustache, clad in yellow robes. "Sugiyama Misaki had informed us of her decision to homeschool him when he turned seven."

" _THAT'S A LIE!_ " Sora yelled again.

"Watch your tongue!" roared a golden-haired woman in deep red robes. "I specifically received the request from her on your seventh birthday to give you private tuition until you came of age. In that, she undertook to teach you about the basics of our society owing to your longingness to stay with your sisters."

"Who are you, and why do you take such joy in attempting to deceive me?!"

"Matsumoto Hazuki, and your words hold no truth."

"If I may," a black-haired, clean-shaven man clad in violet robes interjected. "I would like to ask Sugiyama-kun a few questions myself."

"Fine, Sakakibara."

"Sugiyama-kun, when you say that Hazuki is lying, can you clarify what you mean?"

"It is simple, Sakakibara-sensei," came Sora's reply. "Misaki-nee-chan did nothing to educate me about ANYTHING!"

"That doesn't sound like Misaki at all. She is not the type to lie," spoke the yellow-robed man again.

"We are in agreement, Kato-sensei," Matsumoto declared. "Sugiyama Misaki has proven to be honorable during her time here."

"Honorable or otherwise, Hazuki-chan," spoke a woman in an orange kimono with red linings, "...you kinda have to see that it is kinda strange. When Misaki was in my class, she seemed kinda like a stick in the mud, just the type of person who wouldn't want to send her siblings on any adventure."

"I feel inclined to agree with you, Atsuko," spoke Inoue-sensei. "However, we must return to her brother."

"Misaki-dono has sent us no indication of anything that might help us find a Clan for him," a man in a golden-lined green kimono voiced. "We might have to do an improvised field test."

"Keisuke-san, we haven't had to do that for decades!" a woman in a pink kimono and hood declared.

"It isn't very many times that we have someone straight into the Clans without four years day school experience behind them, Yuzu-dono."

"Time is wasting, and we need to initiate the remaining students. I am in agreement, we should test Sugiyama Sora ourselves to see with whom he truly belongs," spoke a man in light blue robes.

"Very well," announced a ninth voice, feminine, yet seemingly radiant. "As Headmistress of the Mahoutokoro School of Magic, I decree that, for Sugiyama Sora, a Test of Worth will be conducted. Sugiyama-san, each of the Clan Leaders will ask you questions. You are to answer truthfully to the best of your ability, and based on your answer, each Leader will come to a verdict as to your suitability for their Clan. If your answer is unsuitable for them, they will mark you as incompatible with their Clan. If they cannot decide based on the answer you give them, they may ask you additional questions. If they find your answer adequate, they may consider you for their Clan. If multiple Clans are considering you or reserve judgement, another round of questions will be asked by those Leaders. Only when one Clan Leader is approving of your entry will you will be inducted into their Clan. Begin"

"Thank you, Yukimura-sama," Matsumoto replied. "Sugiyama Sora, I, Matsumoto Hazuki of the Bloody Oath, ask you this: If a Wizard sought to unjustly mark your sisters as Dishonorables and you were the only one who could stop him from doing so, how would you go about your task?"

"I wouldn't," Sora declared.

"Explain yourself."

"My sisters both think I am too weak and too useless to do anything. If I they were to be marked as Dishonorables, there wouldn't be anything I could do.."

"Disappointing. The Bloody Oath Clan does not see you as compatible with our values."

"I, Fujioka Byakuya of the Reverent Sky, will ask you your next question, Sugiyama Sora-dono," announced the light-blue-robed man. "Should you happen to find something that could potentially see your family brought to trial before the Ministry of Magic, what would you do?"

"I would see that the Ministry finds out."

"Why, Sora-dono?"

"If they break the law, they should not be allowed to get away with their transgression. It is as simple as that."

"Hmmm. For the moment, the Reverent Sky reserves judgment."

"Me now!" the Atsuko woman declared. "Okay, Sugiyama-kun, I, Tsukuda Atsuko-sama have your next question. You see a commoner about to kill an untrained wizard, but you yourself are bound by the International Statute of Secrecy not to perform magic as you are underage. What do you do?"

"I stop the commoner from killing the wizard, and use his own weapon to make sure he can never kill anyone else again," came Sora's reply.

"That's a bit much, isn't it?"

"Saving the wizard would be all for nought if I leave the attacker capable of undoing my work in an instant."

"Iiinteresting. The Roaring Flame is partial to you joining us."

"Your next question," spoke the Inoue women, "...comes to you from the mouth of Inoue Sakura of the Flowing River. If, by chance, you were helping one of your sisters with research, and you found something that you later identified as vital to what they are studying, what would you do?"

"I do not know about any complex research that would be aided by any specific thing I found. Besides, knowing them and their level of intelligence, absolutely anything I find or touch is pure garbage unfit to be use in any such pursuit!"

"I find that hard to believe. Misaki, in particular, had an eye for quality, although I agree that she is rather snobbish about accepting help."

"Disagreed," the Kato man announced. "Her pride doesn't go that far."

"Hiroshi, if you are going to speak right now, speak your question to Sugiyama-kun. As for me, I'm not ready to decide yet."

"Fine. I am Kato Hiroshi of the Steeled Soul Clan, and I ask you: based on what Misaki has taught you, what would you say is the most important virtue of life?"

"To not exist," was all that Sora answered.

"Explain."

"What is there to explain? All she ever thought of me was as scum. So the best virtue I could live up to is to not exist."

"Misaki would not have taught such a vice. The Steeled Soul will not be accepting the likes of you into our ranks."

"That's completely out of tradition for you, Hiroshi-san," the Yuzu woman in pink declared. "I, the Gentle Wind's Koizumi Yuzu, have your next question, and hopefully we can _actually_ see what you know. In our natural discipline of ninjutsu, what are the five Elements we can wield?"

"I've only heard of three: Ka-jutsu, Chi-jutsu and Sui-jutsu."

"Okay. The Elements themselves are just Ka, Fire, Chi, Earth and Sui, Water. Unfortunately, the question itself has no bearing on whether our Clan will accept you, but as Hiroshi-san failed to ascertain this aspect of you, I couldn't let this slide. For now, we remain undecided."

"I am Hayashi Keisuke of the Unyielding Soil Clan. My question to you is this:" announced the green-robed man. "You suspect that you have been betrayed, but you have known the alleged betrayer long enough to know that he or she isn't that type of person. What do you do?"

"If so, my first thought is maybe my friend has been deceived," came Sora's answer yet again. "I would have to find the deceiver and protect my friend from them."

"Promising. We like you, and will keep you in mind. Finally, my colleague, Sakakibara Kotaro, will present his question to you."

"Thank you, Keisuke," the purple-robed man, Sakakibara, replied. "Sugiyama, if you are about to defeat an opponent in a Kendo duel, but they beg for mercy, what do you do?"

"Hmmm…" began Sora. "I think, I would hold back my blade. However, if he tries to attack me once my blade is lowered, that is when I strike the final blow."

"Promising. The Unblemished Spirit will consider you for membership."

Yukimura then spoke. "Sugiyama Sora, at this point, your reputation stands as follows: the Bloody Oath and Steeled Soul Clans have refused to let you into their ranks, the Reverent Sky, Gentle Wind and Flowing River Clans are undecided, while the Roaring Flame, Unyielding Soil and Unblemished Spirit Clans are prepared to accept you. For now, the undecided heads will ask another round of questions, and they will make their final decision based on your answer."

"Fine, but I would rather be in a separate Clan than my sisters," Sora declared.

"The Steeled Soul has already disqualified you from their ranks, but the Roaring Flame is a Clan that has shown an interest in you. Why do you want to be separate from them?"

"I - I need to stand on my own two feet. I heard that my age is the age when the students make Mahoutokoro their new home. This is my first time here, and I must grow, like my sisters have done. I cannot grow while in their shadows or their Clans."

"Gotcha. Per your request, the Roaring Flame withdraws its willingness to accept you, Sugiyama-kun. Pity, though, you were quite an interesting one," announced Tsukuda Atsuko.

"However," interjected Fujioka Byakuya, "...your disrespect of procedure here by trying to impose your will on this Council leaves the Reverent Sky no choice but to discount the possibility of you becoming one of our members."

"Although I was willing to accept you, Sugiyama-kun," Hayashi Keisuke declared, "...I have to agree with Byakuya-dono; it is not your place to try and force us to select you based on your own selfish desires. I also withdraw my offer to you."

"Thank you, Byakuya, Keisuke, Atsuko," Yukimura Hotaru again announced. "Yuzu, Sakura, Kotaro, what are your impressions?

"I don't know... " Koizumi Yuzu began. "The way he tries to distance himself from those who would want to see him… doesn't sit right with me. The Gentle Wind has come to a decision: we do not elect to grant you membership of our Clan."

"You can speak for yourself on that one," protested Inoue Sakura. "Sugiyama's statement of which Clans he will be comfortable with have actually made our job much easier. Also, to break tradition like that and speak from the heart is a rare skill indeed. The Flowing River is willing to consider you for its ranks."

"My opinion of Sugiyama Sora hasn't changed," voiced Sakakibara Kotaro. "The ability to determine for oneself what to do is one that we acknowledge. The Unblemished Spirit is still prepared to accept you."

"Very well," spoke Yukimura. "Sugiyama Sora, the only two Clans which are prepared to take you are the Flowing River and the Unblemished Spirit. Inoue-sensei and Sakakibara-sensei are going to keep asking you questions, and if one of them finds your answers unsatisfactory, the other will take you into their Clan. Sakura."

"Yes, Hotaru-sama," began Inoue Sakura. "Sugiyama-kun, if you received a present from one of your sisters, what would your initial reaction be?"

"I wouldn't receive a present from them," answered Sora.

"Let's say for sake of argument that you did. What would you think upon seeing it?"

"Okay… in that case… it's a trap."

"A trap?"

"Yes. Depending on who sent it, it could either cripple me and steal my mind, or it would combust instantly and burn my skin for days on end. I'd rather not take any chances; I'll give it to someone else."

"Oh… my… we might need to talk at the later stage, but for the moment; Kotaro, he's all yours. The Flowing River withdraws your potential candidacy. Such paranoia is really unhealthy."

One final time, Yukimura Hotaru spoke. "Sugiyama Sora, you have been chosen for the Unblemished Spirit Clan, they who uphold the virtue of Self-Control. As you have only recently arrived, Sakakibara-sensei will present you with your robes when you arrive back at the Clan Halls. For the moment, you may leave."

Part of the wall underneath Sakakibara-sensei's balcony withdrew into the ground, leaving a passage with a very small number of other students… none of which were Koichi. He walked through the gap, and as he reached the vestibule with the students, the walls closed again. The other students there, predictably, didn't recognise him, and when he stood with his back against another wall, they resumed their conversations amongst themselves. Sora didn't mind; the one person he would have liked to speak with was somewhere else.

The Rituals must have continued for a while, but Sora couldn't hear any of the proceedings. Very rarely, the Walls would reopen and let another student through, but when it happened, the rest of them would begin interaction with the new member. There was one particular cheer when a tan-skinned girl with brown twintails walked in; apparently they were celebrating that the daughter of Japanese Quidditch Beater Takahashi Keiko had gotten into their Clan. What was strange about that was that she seemed to be looking quite intently at Sora with her dark brown eyes. Given her surname, surely there wasn't much longer to wait until the Rituals were over…


	11. Chapter 11: Weekend Welcome

Chapter 11: Weekend Welcome

After the Takahashi girl came through, it didn't take too much longer until a wall opened above the usual passage, wooden stairs started flying to link the above passage to the ground and Sakakibara-sensei emerged. Before he started descending, he drew a wand and waved it at Sora; instantly, his green kimono vanished and was replaced by a pink kimono. The Obi, however, was mostly violet, with silver lining, and in the centre featured a rectangular image of a violet background, with a silver sake cup standing on a bronze pedestal, and an eye with a purple iris above the cup itself.

"Sugiyama Sora, I've just given you your robes. What you were wearing, along with some additional robes, will be in your room in the Clan Hall," spoke Sakakibara. "Now, everyone, follow me."

Sora, taken aback by the sudden action, felt within his new kimono and found his wand. At least it was still there, so for now, he'd follow Sakakibara and the others. As a group, they kept walking until coming to a long tunnel with a large spiral staircase featuring steps the length of the corridor after the Ritual Chamber. A number of students were descending, but once they had gone, Sakakibara-sensei urged his group forward and, also, down the stairs. Occasionally, there was a large arch in the wall that signified another area, but only after a few were the students led off the stairs.

Down more corridors they walked until coming to a small indoor waterfall. It was here that Sakakibara-sensei instructed them to walk through the water.

"Huh? Why?" asked the Takahashi girl.

"These waters cleanse our spirits of all impurities," replied Sakakibara-sensei. "Those who are pure of spirit, part of our Clan, can walk straight through the waters without fear of harm, and the way will open. We walk through these waters daily to cleanse our spirits and remain true to our Clan. That is why we are known as the Unblemished Spirit."

"Okay. Guess I'm going first then!"

Takahashi skipped forward and ran into the downpour. While there was a lot of splashing, Sora could see that the wall had opened in front of her, and closed once she ran through. After her, the others ran through the splashing and beyond the dividing wall until only he and Sakakibara-sensei were left.

"Sugiyama-kun, are you okay?" queried the latter.

"What do you want me to say?" barked Sora. The idea of being drenched didn't suit him at all, and he found himself trembling at the thought of having to brave an onslaught of water. The fear, however, seemed to be linked to something else… he just couldn't place his finger on it. Normal showering worked fine, but supposedly magical waters… there was something about them that put him on his guard..

"Just walk through the stream. Once you've done it the first time, you'll be okay."

"I assume we will be able to dry off inside?"

"It may not be necessary. Go on. I'll come in behind you."

At this point, it was probably all or nothing, so Sora ran straight into the current. The first thing he noticed in the waterfall was that he was not struggling to stay upright. As the passage opened and he darted through, he also noticed that despite being directly under the stream, he had not gotten wet. He now noticed that the room he was in was a lot wider: there was a table almost as long as this new room, with statues holding sake bottles at an angle so as to create a series of small waterfalls on either side. Additionally, the other end of the room seemed to be pure glass, allowing a view of the night sky, and all along the sides there were small rooms. Staircases from either side of Sora's position in front of the secret entrance led to a new elevation on which there were even more rooms.

The entrance behind him opened, and Sakakibara-sensei walked through, ushered Sora to sit at one section of the Table (which he now noticed seemed quite low in terms of height), on one of the Zabuton cushions - right next to the Takahashi girl. Sakakibara then walked to the opposite end of the table, and burst into speech.

"Today, the Unblemished Spirit Clan has received new members. May they bring prosperity to us. To those of you new to us, welcome to our Clan Hall. As you were inducted, you were automatically assigned rooms, all of which are along the sides of this Hall. As you come in, the Male rooms are to your left while the Female rooms are to your right. Meanwhile, all meals will be had here, and if there are any announcements to be made, I will announce them either at Breakfast or at Dinner. For now though, may there be food."

Foods of many varieties appeared on the table, but Sora only took a few slices of yakisoba bread close to him, some sushi and some green tea, consumed them as quickly as he could, and stood up to leave, only to find something pulling on his arm. "Where are you going, Sugiyama-kun?"

Turning to look at the source, he found the Takahashi girl. "I'm finished. I want to go to my room."

"Really? You sure you want to?"

"Yes."

"Why not stay and chat a bit? You've hardly said a word."

"Let him go, Takahashi," Sakakibara spoke from the end of the table. "It is probably quite a lot to digest, it being his first time here. Just give him his space."

"Um, okay."

Her grip on Sora's sleeve released, allowing him to walk back down the length of the Hall to the stairs. On the way, he caught a glimpse of his name above a sliding door on the upper level, and as soon as he came to the staircase, he wasted no time in proceeding to that room. Once past the sliding door, which he had locked as he entered via a vertical bolt, he saw that his case was actually where the people on the ship said it would be… and everything inside was as he left it.

He first reached in for his Mirror, pulling it out. Of all the people who talked to him today, especially Sakakibara-sensei and that Takahashi, the only person with whom he felt he could have talked without arousing suspicion was somewhere else entirely, possibly in a different Clan. There was still Shakarri the lamia, but she warned that he would have to be extra careful when trying to communicate with her. There was nothing for it; he needed to talk to someone who could truly understand him. "Shakarri-nee-chan", he hissed into the mirror.

His reflection began twisting, blurring, until it wasn't his own face he saw, but that of the lamia. "Aaah, what news?"

"I have reached Mahoutokoro, but I'm separated from that friend I told you about. I don't know why, but the thought of him being somewhere where I can't see him… terrifying."

"Give it time, you'll see him again. Anything else?"

"I don't kno- wait, there is something! I think I have a theory on one of the things done to keep my sisters undetected when they perform their special curses!"

"Good. Don't keep me waiting, spit it out."

"I think it has something to do with some of my robes; I bought some at The Spring Obi in Kagamisekai, but Koichi-kun told me that the school doesn't trust third parties with robes: they apparently hand the robes out themselves. He insisted that I removed my bought school robes and only wear what they gave me."

"And that helps us… how?"

"Rin-nee-chan was still peddling the story that I was a brand-new student due to go for the first time when we got those. Koichi-kun told me it would be suspicious if, as a completely new student, I show up already in a Mahoutokoro kimono. Maybe there's something special about the kind that the Spring Obi sells."

"I get the feeling you're snapping your teeth at prey that isn't actually there, Sora. Maybe your brood sister's overexcitement molted into idiocy, and she forgot about you getting robes at the school. Maybe this friend of yours is just too paranoid about breaking the rules even if they cling to your skin and make it crawl. In either case, what you told me so far isn't enough to assuage my concern over the risk of your robes turning white."

"But-"

"If you still think that those robes are key, try and probe your brood sister about them, why she took you to buy robes instead of letting the school hand them out. If there is something different about those that needs to be brought to our attention, she is the one most likely to know about it."

"I just don't know… how I'm going to bring it up…"

"Just use your experience of the school so far. Even if there's something to your suspicion, Kagamisekai still has a few Ōban patrolling the streets, so I cannot investigate at the present time. I'm outside Tokyo right now, and I can't speak for much longer, so is there anything more you need to tell me?"

"I can't stop thinking… this fear from me being alone… makes me weak. People keep saying otherwise, but I cannot stop thinking I'm weak because of that!"

"You're probably just not ready to be completely on your own yet. Besides, it helps to have connections, even if just for comfort. Remember what I said about finding skins to wear: find as many as possible. They may have strengths that can complement your own. I really have to get going now though, but perish the thought that you're weak."

"O-okay," Sora stuttered, watching Shakarri's reflection in the mirror fade and seeing his own face once more. So just Ishida Koichi wasn't enough; he had to find other people and, somehow, become their friend. He didn't see how it was going to work, given what he had to go through with Koichi.

"Eh, Sugiyama-kun?" a familiar voice called to him.

"Takahashi?"

"Setsuna is fine."

"Huh? Who is Setsuna?"

"Oh, geez. You're talking to her right now!"

"I thought your name was Takahashi."

"Yeah, Takahashi Setsuna. Anyway, if you can just open up for a bit, I've got a course timetable for you. Sakakibara-sensei has just handed them out."

"What possible use could I have for one of those?"

"Haha, if you can find your own way to our lessons at each precise moment, then be my guest. Although you are a little bit of a juicy piece of news yourself, aren't you? Outright skipping the Kouhai phase the moment you set foot inside Mahoutokoro and heading straight for the Ritual?"

"What business is that of yours? I was only made aware of this school's existence a few months ago."

"And that is exactly why you're at such a level of disadvantage that you can't afford to turn away help. Us Kouhai have four years experience of the School by the time we join the Clans, whereas you are brand new and have no idea of what is expected of you despite your standing. If you make a wrong move, you can just as easily be kicked out."

"What?" Kicked out… if she meant what he thought she did…

"It looks like you finally understand. Come see me at the Table during breakfast tomorrow; I'll try break everything down for you then. In the meantime, I'll hold on to your schedule."

Setsuna didn't speak any more after that, but it sounded like she did have a point; the whole school was alien to Sora, and he didn't know anything about the school's layout or procedures. Although, the way she said it… she had him at her mercy, in much the same way he had Koichi at his when they first met. Feeling trapped like this… he would have to take her up on her offer. For now though, the futon looked too appealing to pass up.

The next morning, Sora jumped straight out of bed and, seeing Setsuna herself waving her hand, moved to sit next to her at the table. As she passed him his timetable, she mentioned that, being a Saturday, there were no lessons for the day as well as the next day, leaving them an opportunity to explore. Once they both had something to eat, along with some green tea, she took him from the Hall, through the stream guarding the entrance and down a series of wooden corridors before coming to a massive wooden spiral staircase with large, wide wooden stairs that seemed to reach endlessly up and endlessly down.

Setsuna first insisted on going down, all the way, and as they descended, Sora noticed large openings every so often that she claimed were entrances to the floors. Eventually, they came down to the bottom-most floor, essentially a basement. Unlike the wood in the previous halls, the walls in this level seemed to be made entirely out of stone, and Sora saw large lights emanating from the center of the floor in each corridor that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be lava flows underneath glass.

"Enjoying the view, Sora-kun?" spoke a familiar voice… Rin. This was just what he didn't need.

"Rin-senpai?" Setsuna gasped.

"Aaand you are… Takahashi-chan, I believe. How's my little brother been so far?"

"I dunno, we've only just met. I'm giving him a tour of the school now, just so he has an idea of his bearings."

"Wonderful! Lemme come along. I can help with the upper floors."

"That won't be necessary, Rin-nee-chan. Takahashi-san is already fulfilling that role," interrupted Sora.

"She's only fresh out the Ritual as well, so she's just as blind about the upper floors as you are. Besides, I've been dying to talk to you since last night. Come this way for starters; one of your core classes is on this floor."

"What class?" Sora, Setsuna and Rin started walking into the stone corridors.

"Heimin Lore, taught by Atsu-chan. Anyway, I heard about your Ritual from her. Why'd you have to turn her down? I would have loved to have someone as much family as Clan."

"Like I told her, I must face the same trial as you and Misaki-nee-chan."

"Do you know how rare it is to see one's family in the same Clan?"

"No, and I don't see why it is an issue."

"People can be vastly different from each other, and Yuki-chan oversees the whole process of reviewing their histories and behaviour to sort them into Clans."

"Yuki-chan?"

"The Headmistress Yukimura Hotaru-chan, obviously!"

"Can we just get this little trip done!"

The day continued to fly by with Sora, Rin and Setsuna touring the Palace, and culminating in the sister role-playing as a teacher during a mock-lesson to try and get the brother adjusted to the structure he would have to abide by. His anger at her continued to cloud his judgement, to the point that, at the end of the day, the only thing Sora could be sure of was that he would have to attend one of the classes and confirm then whether she was telling the truth or not.


End file.
